Teenage Dream
by Hanatamago2204
Summary: Since when had it been so awkward to be with Emil? And when did he become so beautiful? HongIce and DenNor, hints of GerIta and RoChu
1. Chapter 1

Hello everybody, this is my first fanfiction I post here. I really hope you will enjoy the story, please review so I can improve myself.

The story was inspired by an AMV I found on youtube for HongIce, called Teenage Dream.

So, here we go! **  
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Leon and Emil had been best friends since they could remember. The two boys lived in the same street and walked to school together every day, played outside and as they got older, they played video games together. If you said Emil, you automatically said Leon. If you called Leon, you also called Emil. If there was a party, both of them would go together, which was somewhat convenient, seeing that both of them were quite handsome. Emil had platinum blonde hair, lilac blue eyes and a soft voice. His attitude was a little bit arrogant, but deep inside he was very nice and caring, especially towards his older brother Lukas. Leon knew he was handsome and was a total lady killer. After they turned 16, Leon started to show more and more interest in girls and parties. His friend, however, didn't particularly care for other people, even less for girls. As a natural reaction, they started to drift apart.

Neither of them seemed too bothered by it, they just went on with their lives. Emil became more secluded from the world and stayed in his room more, playing video games, watching anime and reading manga. Lukas didn't really care in the beginning, he just thought the two younger ones had got into a fight. Unsure of their feelings and knowing how complicated a teenagers life was, he didn't say anything about it at first. But after he almost forgot about Leon's birthday, Lukas started to become worried.

"Emil, you know that tomorrow is Leon's birthday, right?", he asked at the breakfast table as he sat down, a cup of coffee in his hand. His hands were tucked halfway into the light blue sleeves of his turtle neck jumper, a piece of clothing he only wore if he wanted to hide certain "things", Emil knew. The younger Nordic rolled his eyes. Why did adults always feel the need to interfere with his life. He wasn't a little kid anymore, he could take care of himself.

Truthfully, Emil had indeed forgotten about the birthday. The two boys rarely spoke at school, since Leon had started to hang out with the more popular kids. All the girls were always with him, and if they were not, they'd be sure to come bother Emil about finding his friend. What a pain in the neck…

He sighed as he looked at his older brother, who eyed him carefully. Lukas wondered what was going on in the platinum blonde's head, but like himself, the boy rarely showed his emotions with anything else than his eyes. The only people who could handle the Norwegian-Icelandic duo, were Mathias, Lukas' Danish boyfriend, and Leon. Berwald, one of the two Nordics closest friends, was also quite good at reading the two secluded men, but because he and Tiino, his husband, didn't spend all of their time with the two, they found it harder to read their emotions sometimes.

Emil left the table without a word, as he had become fed up with his brother. The younger man knew he should have remembered the birthday of the person who he used to call his best friend, said friend had remembered his after all. But for some reason, Emil just hadn't been thinking about the dark haired Asian for a while. He would have to think about a present quickly, before the stores closed today. It was already quarter past four. Not much time left, he thought.

Further down the street, in the Wang house, Leon was bothered with a similar conversation. His older brother Yao, had asked him whether Emil was going to visit them tomorrow. Judging by the surprise on the younger Asian's face, he hadn't been thinking about it yet. Usually, the Nordic teen was the first one to hear about Leon's birthday plans, even before his family.

"Did you two fight, aru?", Yao asked, as he was cooking breakfast. The smell of rice and eggs and meat filled the kitchen, Leon really enjoyed it when his brother cooked porridge. And Yao's porridge was the best, he thought, even though his relative Kiku, a Japanese, said that it was more of a food to eat when you were sick. Nevertheless, he ate whatever Yao made, which showed that the Japanese man did care for Yao and his cooking.

"No, we didn't fight." The answer somewhat surprised Yao. It would have explained why the two males hadn't been together that much lately. "We've both just been very busy", Leon continued as he walked towards Yao, curious what exactly would be in the porridge today.

Yao decided to pry a bit more. It was strange that the two best friends didn't spend as much time together anymore. But then again, him and Ivan had also drifted apart during their final year of High School, so perhaps it wasn't that peculiar.

"Is it a girl, aru?", Yao asked, his voice was meant to sound teasing, but his worry and slight anger weren't concealed very well. The older male didn't want to think about Leon getting a girlfriend and getting her pregnant, being the irresponsible teen he was.

"What? NO!", Leon shouted and his cheeks turned a light pink. "What made you think that, stupid Yao!" It wasn't really a question, more an exclamation. "I'm not hungry, so I'm leaving now." Clearly, Leon had been embarrassed and surprised by the question and he ran into the living room to grab his bag and books. A few seconds later, the older Asian heard the door slam and he saw his younger brother run towards school, his face still pink. Yao shook his head, which made his long ponytail dance over his back. Teenagers, never would he understand them. Even though he had obviously been one himself. Well, his brother's live was none of his business. The Asian shrugged and continued cooking the rice, until Yong Soo and Hyung came downstairs, Leon's younger twin brothers. They were complete opposites, Yong Soo was lively and loved colour, where Hyung was a hardworking, more quiet person. Both of them looked around the kitchen as they didn't find their brother.

"Where is Leon? Is he sick", Hyung asked, setting the table for the three of them. Kiku had gone on a business trip for five days the day before. Yao looked at the younger male, who stared back with seemingly emotionless eyes. Then, the oldest sighed.

"You could say that, aru. He left this morning without eating and seemed a bit upset after I asked him whether he had asked Emil to come to his birthday yet, aru. Do you two know if they had a fight, aru?" At the last question, Yao turned around, looking at Yong Soo, who was playing on his phone again. He never seemed to be without the colourfully styled device, that held all of his life in one. Games, friends, news and gossip.

"Yong Soo!", Yao's voice flew through the kitchen. "How many times did I tell you to put that devilish thing away at the table, aru!" The younger one only sighed and then put away the pink, yellow and green thing. He knew his older brother didn't only use kitchen attributes to cook…

"Didn't hear anything about that, don't really care either about those two either. They haven't been hanging around together a lot lately and Leon changed friends. He's now hanging more with girls, I think." Yao frowned at that answer. Perhaps there was indeed a girl involved. After a glance at the clock, Hyung tapped on his brother's arm.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. We really should hurry up." Yong Soo grabbed his bowl and filled it with porridge and the two sat down to eat. Yao had started to clean up the kitchen. He would eat later, when everyone had left the house for school. Ten minutes later, the house was all quiet. Finally.

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That was the first chapter. I really hope you don't mind me cutting it off here... Please look forward to the next chapter, it will be uploaded soon ^^

~Hana


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everybody, I'm done with another chapter after pushing myself all day yesterday... I really hope it's not too much of a mess, hard to understand or anything like that. I'm really nervous when it comes to writing Hong Kong or Iceland, I don't have a lot of experience with these two, nor did I write fan fictions before. So, if they seem a bit out of character, please forgive me.

That being said, I don't know if I will be updating this so soon again. I do have a lot of free time, since I have mono and had to stop studying because of that... But I don't want to overdo it, you know? Want to keep you a bit nervous and exicted for the next chapter :p But for now, enjoy reading!

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At school, Leon sat down in his chair, avoiding anyone. His 'conversation' with Yao still bothered him a lot and he didn't want to interact with anyone for a bit. Especially not Emil. Unfortunately for him, Emil sat next to him in class, so he would probably have to say 'Good Morning' to the Icelandic at the very least. But until the teen had arrived, the Asian had a bit of quiet time, for as far as a school is quiet.

Girls were running around the hallway, chatting about the newest fashion trends, the last episode of god knew what show that was on yesterday evening, the boys at school or that particularly good tea and coffee shop that had opened up just across the corner. They were known for their miraculous tea that were imported straight from Britain and the delicious sweet French pastries that were backed by the chef himself, a very handsome Frenchman with blonde hair that reached halfway his neck, usually tied in a ponytail with a few strings of hair casually and stubbornly peeking out to the side. His attitude was rather flirty, even though the British waiter didn't really seem to approve of that. The girls fawned of both of them, as they loved the compliments and cheesy remarks of the French and the accent of the waiter.

 _-flashback-_

Leon had gone there once, together with Emil. The young Icelandic forgot to bring his lunch that day, so his friend suggested they could grab a bite and a cup of tea at the new café. Of course, Emil had to remark that he didn't want tea, he wanted coffee. Then, he left with a smile, Leon following behind.

As soon as they entered the busy café, things were starting to become awkward. The Frenchman was standing behind the counter, a smile on his face that seemed full of mischief. He leisurely combed back a strain of his locks and welcomed the guests in.

"Ah, _bienvenue mes amours_ (Welcome, my loves)", he chirped, winking at the blonde of the pair. "It's a shame you are with him, otherwise I would have offered you a cup of tea on the house. You look absolutely beautiful." The flirty words of the Frenchman took Emil by surprise and a light pink flooded his cheeks. For some reason, Leon thought it looked very adorable and…

Wait, wait, wait, wait, what was he thinking? This was his best friend, someone he had known for ages now. He wasn't some cute girl with long hair and slender legs that was acting coy and turned shy by the compliments that rolled of his tongue! This was Emil, a boy, even though he looked quite feminine with his white long boots with laces and his maroon jacket did emphasise how slim he was. It made him look very fragile, Leon concluded after ogling the blonde male.

The Asian could almost slap himself. There he went again, thinking about the blonde as if he were a girl that he could swoon. Within a few seconds after he told himself not to! Leon's thoughts didn't make sense anymore at this moment. He usually was full of confidence, all of his actions showed that he didn't really care about authorities, he just did whatever he wanted. Be that flirting with girls that were taken, eating during class or listening to music during tests. He was a bit of a bad boy, you could say.

However, his home situation, aka his strict brother, made it impossible for him to get into too much trouble. If he did get into trouble, Yao would pick him up at school, drag the younger one to the car by his ear and scolding him about what he had done. It was very embarrassing, Leon thought. So, he made sure to not let that happen again, it was bad for his reputation.

Emil's voice called Leon out into the real world again by asking what he wanted for lunch. Caught off guard, Leon mumbled something about tea and quickly walked away to one of the tables in the back. For some reason, he was very embarrassed about his thoughts. Never had he thought about Emil that way. It bothered him so much, that he didn't notice Emil's confused look he sent Leon when he arrived at the table, holding a tray with a few sandwiches, a tea and a coffee.

"You alright?", he asked his friend with his angelic voice. No! Bad Leon. Stop that!

"Yeah, I was just remembering… something." The other said, not looking at the Nordic sitting across. Why did this have to happen to him, of all people. Even though he wasn't sure what 'this' was. It wasn't normal, for sure.

During the meal, they didn't really speak. Leon just sipped from his tea, staring at the design on the cup, as if to avoid Emil. Latter was eating with a lot of enthusiasm, unable to speak in between the bites. Were those sandwiches that great? After the meal, they walked back to school, in silence.

After that incident, the two were more distant with each other. During classes, they didn't speak a lot anymore, which caused fewer red cards for Leon, to Yao's surprise.

"Did I finally knock some sense into that thick head of yours, aru?", he asked at the dinner table one day, as the subject of school had been brought up by Hyung. The half Korean boy took school very serious, he aspired being a doctor someday. He studied every day until late, only to wake up early to be ready for school. Because of his discipline, Yao favoured the youngest of the family just a little bit, something he would never admit if you'd ask him about it.

"Yeah, that wok of yours can do wonders, I think", Leon absentmindedly said, not caring for the conversation at all. His head was filled with other thoughts, about a certain blonde teenager that lived close by…

 _-flashback end-_

Leon sighed. Ever since that day, he couldn't stop thinking about the blushing boy. He imagined what his friend would look like if he, Leon, made him blush. What kind of words would trigger the soft pink? What could he do to see that beautiful colour on that almost ivory skin again?

The school bell brought him back into the real world, out of his memories and fantasies. The girls in the hallways had stopped running and chatting, the classroom started to fill with students. First to arrive was Lily, a shy girl with blonde hair, cut into a bob. She was always wearing a blue ribbon in it, a present she apparently received by her older brother, Basch Zwingli. Next were Feliks and Toris, first gossiping about something he had heard somewhere. Leon only heard the words dress, wedding and Feliciano. He didn't really care. The murmur in the class of the few students talking was overruled by the loud and obnoxious voice of the American Alfred.

"HEY EVERYBODY! YOUR HERO IS HERE!", he shouted. He was followed by his younger twin brother Matthew, who tried to calm him down with his timid voice.

"Alfred, don't yell so much…" It was a normal morning for the class. Even though they were twins, they didn't share the same last name. Alfred F. Jones had lived with his father, until the man had died in a car accident. Matthew on the other hand had lived with their mother, Roxanne Williams, and he also accepted her last name as soon as the twin's parents had divorced. After Matthew and Alfred's father had passed away, Alfred started to live with his mother and so he switched schools. Something Matthew wasn't too happy about, because his peaceful live was over then. But otherwise, he loved his older twin brother to death.

Next to walk in were Louise Bonnefoy and Emma de Vries, best friends, even though they seemed opposites. They sat two rows in front of Leon, but they were somewhat friends of his. Louise was Francis' younger sister and sometimes helped at the café, but she preferred not to be related to that "flirty good for nothing", as she would say. She was a sociable person, but also quite serious when it came to schoolwork. Since her older brother had quit his job as a lawyer to move in with his boyfriend and start a café, she didn't really think highly of him.

Emma's older brother was Daan, who owned a popular club in the night district of the city. It wasn't a bad club, but there were rumours of weed and other drugs that were sold in the club. Yet Emma and her younger brother Henri didn't really seem to mind, nor did they step foot into the club, Daan made sure they didn't get into trouble because of him. He was a very caring, and very strict older brother, Leon had heard.

Most of his classmate's older siblings were friends with Yao and Kiku, Leon's cousin. Most of them were around the same age, so they had been in the same class during high school, just like the younger generation now. However, since the elder siblings had all started working, they only met on special occasions, such as weddings or big birthday parties.

The sound of a door closing made the class go quiet. A middle aged man walked in, long blonde hair that was combed back, a grey suit without wrinkles on his body. It was Mr. Beilschmidt, a very strict teacher. Today he seemed in an even worse mood than usually.

"Open your textbooks and shut up." His voice sounded like it was laced with ice. Leon was pretty sure every student had shivers down their spine as soon as the man spoke. Except for Emil, since he was used to the cold. Now that Emil was in his head again… Where was the boy? He hadn't arrived before the bell. Did something happen?

A few seconds after that, the door opened again. A flustered, out of breath Icelandic walked into the classroom, uniform full of wrinkles, hair a complete mess as if he had just woken up. He swallowed, before he opened his mouth to state an apology. But he never got to do so, Mr. Beilschmidt interrupted the silence with his icy voice.

"You're late. To the principal, right now. This afternoon you will be cleaning the school grounds." With that, the teacher returned to the lesson for that day. "Your homework was to do the questions on page 25 and 26. Is there anyone who didn't understand something, has a question or something to confess?" He looked at the students, who were all silent, afraid of their teacher. Emil realised that the man was not going to talk to him anymore, and left.

That afternoon, Emil was busy swiping the school grounds. He was really annoyed, he had planned to buy a present for Leon today, since tomorrow was his birthday. How he hated their Maths teacher, he was always strict, despised it when a student was late and gave insanely hard punishments when you were late or didn't do your assigned homework. Even Alfred, the clown (or as he called himself, the hero) of the class did his homework for this class. They all feared the wrath of the frozen German.

His work was interrupted by a familiar voice, coming from a dark haired person with honey coloured eyes.

"Hey ice cube, are you going to drop by tomorrow? Since it is my birthday after all and I was thinking… You know…" Leon stopped mid-sentence to look at the Icelandic in front of him. For some reason, the broom in his hands made him look very domestic. A little bit like Yao when he was cooking again. Leon's thoughts crawled towards his imagination and suddenly the person in front of him was wearing a pink apron and standing in a sky blue kitchen, a spatula in his hand, surrounded by the smell of dinner.

 _"Welcome home darling! Do you want to take a shower first, eat or do. You. Want. Me?"_ , he asked, just like the characters in certain anime's and manga's, tasting every word of the last sentence on his tongue. Leon felt the heat rising to his cheeks.

"I, well…" Emil looked at his friend, who suddenly started to blush. "Leon, are you okay?", he asked, putting his hand on the younger one's shoulder. Well, younger… They were only three months apart, but still…

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry, I gotta go now, help Yao with his rice and panda's and bye!" Before Emil could stop the rambling Asian teen, he was gone. What did he just witness.

"I suppose I won't have to show up tomorrow then", the Nordic said, letting out a sigh and starting to sweep again. What a great day it had been. First his brother nosing around in his business. No wait, it was when his brother had worn that awful jumper again. He only wore that when he wanted to hide things. Those things were usually there after a "rough" night with Mathias. God, even the thought of his brother and the Dane doing… Whatever they were doing, made him want to puke.

That Lukas was trying to pry in his brother's life was not helping either. Because of the conversation, he was very fed up with his _storebror_ (big brother) and had his head in the clouds. And then he had missed a turn while walking to school, causing him to be late for Maths and getting detention/ cleaning duty. Yes, today was going to be a great day, Emil thought.

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Soo… I really hope this story isn't too illogical, because of all the flashbacks and thought trains.. Sorry if it is, I don't have someone who reads the stories and corrects them for me. Because I introduced a few new characters that may or may not have been recognised, I'll write down their names and countries here ^^ I'm also thinking about doing a first chapter where I state all the names and ages for the characters, as well as some of their relationships… Don't know yet, let me know if you'd like that.

 **Lily Zwingli: Liechtenstein**

 **Alfred F. Jones: America**

 **Matthew Williams: Canada**

 **Emma de Vries: Belgium (I know they usually use Isabelle, but I don't really think that is a very Dutch name. Emma in this case is both Dutch and French, which is why I chose it. De Vries is a typical Dutch last name, and since she is Netherland's younger sister, I figured they'd have the same last name, just like Henri, their younger brother.)**

 **Daan de Vries: Netherlands**

 **Henri de Vries: Luxembourg**

 **Louise Bonnefoy: Monaco (Usually she is pictured as France's sister, so she is here as well.)**

 **Feliks Łukasiewicz: Poland**

 **Torris Laurinaitis: Lithiuana**

 **Mr. Beilschmidt: Germania**

~Hana


	3. Chapter 3

Hey you guys, I'm back with a new and very long chapter. I doubted about writing this much for a while, but then I decided to just let my imagination run wild and this is what I came up with. Of course, the end of this chapter was what I wanted to work towards, but I have had a bit of a struggle finding out how these two awkward teens got there.

As you may or may not have noticed, I am having a bit of a problem with the picture for the story. It's uploaded and everything, but it just doesn't want to stay there. Keeps disappearing. Oh well...

Enough of my rambling, enjoy the story!

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Once he was back at home, the Asian boy was greeted by the scent of Dim Sum. He found his older brother in the kitchen, as usual, holding a spoon in his hand, ponytail hanging to the right.

"Aiyaah! What happened to you, aru?", the older asked as he noticed the flustered teen's face. "Your face looks like my clothes, aru", he joked, walking over to the younger one. "Oh, did Emil want to stay for dinner tomorrow? When will he come, I'll need to know in order to have all of you prepared. Especially Yong Soo needs time to get his things done, aru. What does that boy do in the bathroom that long anyway?" Without really paying attention to his younger brother, Yao rambled on about the birthday preparations he had to make, such as buying a cake, decorating the room and buying enough food for everyone.

"I wonder if Emil still likes licorice?" Just as Yao wanted to ask more questions, Leon interrupted him.

"Stop. He won't come." The dark haired boy stared at his feet, remembering how he had cowardly run off after he imagined his childhood friend as his husband, preparing dinner. He felt his stomach fill with butterflies as he subconsciously recalled the images that had been in his mind a while ago.

"What do you mean, he won't come, aru? Is he sick?" The man with the ponytail looked surprised as he heard the words the younger male muttered. Leon didn't answer his question verbally, he only shook his head, the dark bangs in front of his face dancing around in the air at the motion.  
"No, I… I didn't really ask him… Something… came up." The young one felt his cheeks turn the colour of his country's flag as he stuttered, still not looking up from his feet.

Neither of the Asians said something to each other for a couple of minutes. Yao just stood in the kitchen, perplexed by the answer his younger brother had just given in. The colour of the teen's cheeks was also a very rare sight to him, he never felt embarrassed, as far as the ponytailed male knew. He just wanted to ask why Leon hadn't asked Emil if he wanted to visit him for his birthday, when the teen's phone broke the silence.

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After Leon had left without another word about his birthday, Emil had to clean for another two hours before Mr. Beilschmidt allowed him to go home. He was a clean freak and hated it when there were places still left with dirt or dust. Finally free, the young Icelandic hurried home, eager to see his pet Puffin again and drinking some coffee. He was starting to sound like his brother, Emil thought as he walked along the quiet street.

Their neighbourhood wasn't a bad one, nor a very chic one. The houses had two, at most three stories and cosy gardens with flowers and sometimes a tree or two. His own home was made out of dark red bricks and had two stories. Their garden wasn't very big, probably the smallest of all the houses in the street. But, the house had a balcony, something none of the other houses had. It was connected to the master bedroom and Emil knew that Lukas enjoyed his cup of coffee with a good book up there in the summers. Sometimes the ashy blond would just stand there, staring at the sunset, never without a cup of coffee. Emil had seen his brother with his boyfriend there as well, the older combing through the smaller male's hair, something the younger Bondevik wasn't allowed to do. No one was, in fact.

Upon entering the hallway of his home, he heard said brother and boyfriend argue about something.

"How could you forget about their wedding!?" That could only be Lukas. Mathias was the one who always forgot about things, for example anniversaries. Last year, Emil saved his ass last minute by texting him that it was their anniversary, otherwise the Dane would have slept on the couch that night. But he managed to mix together something very romantic and Emil ended up being the one not sleeping in his own bed. Gross, how those two could do things that the young teen didn't want to think about right now. Or ever.

"Well I just…" Emil found the two quarrelling love birds in the living room. His older brother had a very annoyed look on his usually seemingly emotionless face. Something was terribly wrong.

"I'm home…" the Icelandic greeted his two housemates, who, judging by their reaction, hadn't noticed that they weren't alone anymore.

"Oh, welcome back. We'll talk about this in the car. Now get out of my eyesight and put on something decent or you will be a dead man." The last sentences were aimed at Mathias, who walked off like a hurt puppy. If Emil had tried a little, he could have seen an imaginary set of ears and an imaginary tail, both hanging low.

"What was that about?", the silver haired asked his older brother, dropping his backpack next to the couch, earning a death glare from the other male. This was not a good time to mess with Lukas, the younger Bondevik brother thought.

"Ludwig and Feliciano have their wedding tonight, remember? And I asked Mathias multiple times this month to get someone to watch over you while we're gone, but he didn't. So now you have to stay the whole night alone, something I am not too fond of." The last words were almost muttered too quietly to hear. Almost.  
"Geez, I am not five anymore, I can watch myself. Besides, I made the choice myself to stay home and I never expected to have someone watch over me." Emil rolled his eyes as he saw his brother crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Emil Bondevik, I am not going to leave you out here alone, especially with that rapist running around the neighbourhood here. I may seem cold to other people, but I care about you and about Mathias and I wouldn't dare to leave without knowing you'll be safe." The Icelandic hated it when his brother used his full name. He hated it even more when he was being overprotective. Yes, there had been a few incidents where a rapist had broken into the houses of young girls living in the neighbourhood, only to tie them up and do weird things to them. But Emil wasn't a young girl and he was strong, so there was nothing to be worried about. But he knew his brother wouldn't accept that answer. If things really stayed unsolved, Lukas would just cancel his plans and stay home, the younger one knew.

"Look, _storebror_." Emil only used that name when he really wanted to get his way or when Lukas was being unreasonable. "I could just spend the night at a friend's house, if that makes you feel better." As soon as the words had left his lips, the younger one wanted to punch himself in the face. And which friend would you go to, he asked himself mentally. Everyone in his class would attend the wedding, since their brothers and sisters were friends with the two soon to be married or the family of either of them.

"Really? I think Yao said that Leon didn't want to go to the party either, so perhaps you could stay there?" Lukas' eyes showed his relief as he had now a plan for his younger brother's safety. He missed the look of discomfort that glided over his younger sibling's face while the Icelandic grabbed his phone out of his pocket. Even though it was his own idea -a very stupid idea Emil, how could you come up with this?- he hesitated to call his long-time friend. For some reason the Asian boy hadn't been himself the past few weeks.

When had this all started, Emil wondered. Did he say something that could have upset his friend. He dug through his memory, desperate to find a clue for the weird behaviour. It wasn't normal that Leon didn't invite him to his birthday. But then again, Emil himself had forgotten to buy a present. Which was also not very normal, judging by his brother's reaction this morning. The younger Bondevik was glad that Lukas hadn't talked about it yet this afternoon.

Emil sighed and searched for Leon's contact in his phone, JackieWang. The name still made him smile every time, because he remembered how Leon had become Jackie Wang in the first place. When they were little, the younger one had always insisted on watching Jackie Chan movies. This happened so often, that Emil now could recite all of the movies. When they had finished watching, Leon would then beg and plea his older friend –yes it were only three months, but he was still older than the Asian- to play the movie with him. He would call himself Jackie Chan and run around, kicking things and hitting them with weird hand movements. At some point, Lukas had said he shouldn't be Jackie Chan, but Jackie Wang, the a in the second name now pronounced like in Chan. For some reason, Emil thought it was very funny and his friend's reaction didn't make it any better. He got upset that Lukas dared to insult the master like that, but the name had stuck around and was now his nickname.

Pressing the icon with a green phone on it, Emil started to feel a little nervous. What if Leon didn't want him to come over? With his weird behaviour lately, you could never be sure of what he was thinking. Luckily -or unluckily, as Emil thought- his friend answered his phone within a few seconds.

"What's up Icecream? We spoke, like, a few hours ago. Miss me that much?" The brown-haired boy's response was normal for him, but Emil felt as if there was a slight tension in his voice. He was probably imagining things, Leon was always bursting with confidence.

"No, I don't miss you. If someone does, they're crazy", the other coldly responded, his face like a mask. "Listen, I need to know something. My brother is currently having a mental breakdown because Mathias didn't get a babysitter."

"Hey, I'm not having a breakdown", his older brother commented from the kitchen.

"Yeah sure, whatever Luke", Emil mumbled. The boy on the other side of the phone chuckled. "Like I said, he is having trouble accepting that I will be all alone the whole night, since they are attending the Pasta-Potato wedding tonight and they won't be home until late. So I opted that I would stay over at your place, since you won't be going either."

It was quiet on Leon's half for a while, as if he was processing the information he had heard.

"I don't get why you can't stay home alone though.. I mean, you are 17, there is no way you can't help yourself into bed. Or do you need to have a good night kiss every night before you can go to sleep?" The Asian sounded like he was trying his best to hold back his laughter.

"I don't need a good night kiss, thank you very much. Neither do I know why Lukas needs me to be watched over so badly, he said something about a rapist? All I know is that if I refuse to stay over somewhere or get someone to stay at my place, he will take away my laptop for three weeks. Talk about overprotective", Emil sighed, switching his phone into his other hand. "So, can I come over or not?"

"Sure, only if you admit that you just don't want to be alone tonight", Leon joked. He was glad they talked on the phone, since that comment would have earned him either a death glare or a slap on the back of his head. "When will you be here?", he asked. His brother and siblings would be leaving in about thirty minutes, he remembered. The brown-eyed teen was _so_ glad he didn't have to go. He hated formal things and anything that required him to wear a suit. His twin brothers didn't seem to mind, the older because he loved watching all the girls in their night gowns, the older because… Leon didn't know why Hyung enjoyed those events. He didn't really care either, at this point.

"I think I'll be there as soon as my brother and his overgrown baby are leaving." He heard his best friend say. "If that's fine with you and your family, that is…"

"Yeah, no problem. But I kinda gotta go, because my brother has been giving me death glares ever since you said your second sentence." –smack- Leon's cheek turned red.

"Don't talk about me in such a way, aru. Or you can forget the whole slumbing party, aru." Yao walked out of the kitchen to urge his siblings to get ready to leave and to put on something more appropriate for the wedding. He missed another comment about him that Leon made, only to hang up after that. He was not prepared for this…

* * *

Around forty-five minutes later, Yao and the twins were gone and Emil had taken their place. The two teens stood in the hallway, a bit unsure what to do. It was only 6 p.m. and neither of them had any plans for the night. Usually, when they had a sleep over, they would play the new video game that would have been released a few days ago or watch that cool movie they heard about. Because, frankly, there wasn't really a reason to have a sleep over, since they only lived three houses apart.

"So, uhh, shall we make dinner then?" The Asian teen suggested, looking into the eyes of his friend. He felt a light tug in his chest area, as if someone had tied a string around his heart and pulled it whenever he looked at Emil. What was wrong with him, for fucks sake? He never felt this when he was with other people. Before his thoughts could jump to any weird conclusions, he was unintendedly saved by the Icelandic.

"Yeah, sure. I could use a bit of food." They went into the kitchen and checked the fridge. Emil had been here so many times that it almost felt like a second home. Almost, since the Wang family fridge didn't hold nearly as much butter and beer as the Bondevik-Køhler household. He grinned at the thought of his older brother who loved butter so much. Many evenings Lukas would just sit on the couch with his lover, one holding a beer, the other a little plate with a bit of butter on it. It was an odd quirk, but it was also kind of cute, Mathias and Emil thought. They were very careful not to say that out loud though, Lukas wouldn't hesitate to smack their arses if they did.

Dinner wasn't much, just a bit of rice and some fish. The teens were feeling lazy and they were probably going to empty every bag of crisps and eat every piece of liquorice in the house later that evening. The atmosphere felt very thick and awkward, neither of them knowing what to say.

"So, found anyone you like yet", Leon interrupted the silence while looking up from his bowl of rice. Damn it, why had he asked that question? They never spoke about these things and he wasn't even sure if he wanted to know. Emil almost chocked on his food as the question reached his brain.

"No, do I have to?", he asked back, his voice annoyed but his face without any clear emotion. As an answer, his friend only shook his head. Then the awful silence returned again, lasting for the rest of the meal.

After finally finishing it, they decided it would be better to clean up straight away, both knowing how much Yao hated a messy kitchen. Especially if the mess was not made by himself. They split up their tasks, Emil was going to vacuum and clean the table –How can one drop so much rice while eating, he wondered- and Leon was going to wash the dishes. The silence still continued. Not that they would have understood each other with the vacuum screaming, but still.

Suddenly Emil felt something wet and cold run down his back. He shrieked and jumped aside, looking around him to find the source of his wet back, only to see a mischievous Asian standing by the sink, holding his tummy while laughing.

"Haa, you should have seen your face", he said after he had found his breath again. Emil only glared at him, eyes icy ( **A/N: pun** **not** **intended** **hahaha** ).

"Oh come one Icecube, don't be so cold. Haha, see what I did there?" Leon's eyes sparkled as he kept teasing his Icelandic friend.

"Shut up, you're annoying", was his response, a faint hint of pink on his cheeks. "Now I have to put on something else. Thanks a bunch."

"Or you could just walk around shirtless", the brunet responded innocently, but with a smirk hanging around the corners of his lips.

"Yeah and risk another unwanted shower. Thanks, but no thanks." And with that the violet eyes looked away from the Asian, the owner walking out of the room. Sometimes Leon could be just as childish as the Dane, he thought. That was probably why he liked his friend so much.

After having changed and letting Leon do the rest of the clean-up, the teens decided to play some video games. First up was GTA. They took turns as they were driving around in tuned cars like madmen, killing innocent people and visiting the strip club. Doing anything any other teen would have done if they found the game. They soon got bored with it and exchanged the disk for a multiplayer racing game, Need for Speed. Usually they were equally good, but today Leon seemed a bit off focus.

"Ha! You lost again! Finally realised that you suck at this game?", Emil exclaimed after a fifth victory in a row.

"No, I'm just, like, going easy on you because of my prank earlier", his friend said. That wasn't true. The problem was that he was sitting way to close to his friend than he felt was comfortable. He could smell him, minty with a hint of liquorice. Leon felt his face heat up. What was going on, he had never had this before. And again it was the Icelandic who interrupted his swirling thoughts.

"Yeah right, whatever. You really just suck at this game." "Yeah and you swallow", was Leon's childish response. What would Emil look like if he did… NO! NO, no no no nonononononono! This was his best friend! Why on earth would he…

"I'm going to the bathroom", the dark haired said, quickly getting up before Emil could see his blushing face. "Can you go grab some snacks? I'm feeling hungry", he added just before leaving the room. The older teen shrugged and got up. Leon really was acting weird, he thought.

The Icelandic didn't turn on the lights. He had been here so many times that he could find his way to the storage room without help from his eyes. He quickly found what he was looking for, a bag of cheese onion crisps and a bag full of liquorice, the latter being for himself. Should he grab more food? Nah, Leon could get his lazy ass up himself and get more if he wanted. After bringing the snacks to the room, Emil went into the kitchen to make himself some coffee.

"Hey Jackie Wang! Want some coffee too?", he yelled from under the stairs, hoping his friend would hear him. What was taking him so long?

Meanwhile, Leon was having a whole lot of troubles himself. He was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, with a mess in his trousers. Yes, that was right. He was starting to get turned on! By the smell of his childhood friend. He couldn't believe his body and thoughts and walked over to the sink to splash some water into his face and hopefully some sense into his brain while he was at it. The sound of the tap almost drowned out Emil's voice, he just faintly heard someone calling for him downstairs.

"Huh? What was that?", the brunet asked, closing the tap and dipping the room into silence again. After hearing the door open, Emil asked his question again.

"Do you also want some coffee, Jackie Wang?" He just couldn't leave the name out.

"Oh my god, how many times do I have to tell you to not call me that way?" The younger teen rolled his eyes to show his annoyance. His friend only chuckled in response. Without waiting for his response, the Icelandic walked back into the kitchen and pulled out two mugs from the cabinet.

"It's a miracle your family even has coffee", he stated as he grabbed the beans from the cabinet above him. "I mean, your brothers only drink tea, herbal tea not to mention. There is no caffeine in there, so I don't understand why they even bother pouring that down their throats…" The young man rambled on about coffee, one of his few passions, shared by his brother and the other Nordic people in his family. Before he could complain more, Leon took his mug and went back to his bedroom. Emil followed.

"So, what are we going to do now", the soon to be birthday boy asked his friend. The platinum blond only shrugged.

"Don't know. Movie or something?", he said as he sat down on the floor, legs tugged under each other, coffee mug in his hand. The teen looked very relaxed, Leon noticed.

"Why not? I have this really cool horror movie we could watch… If you're not, like, too afraid to watch it", the Asian suggested, letting the last words hang in the air, challenging his friend. Truth was, Leon was too afraid to watch the movie alone, but had heard great things about it. So he was happy to have someone to share the scariness with. He started to sound like Alfred Jones, the brown-eyed thought.

Emil didn't seem to care and they started to set up everything for the movie downstairs. They took all the pillows from Leon's bedroom and from the couches in the living room, which by the way looked really weird, an old fashioned flower pattern on them made them look like they belonged in some old person's house, and set them against the couch. They then got two soft blankets and curled up in them, backs resting against the pillows. Snacks and coffee were within reach and they commenced their movie night.

As soon as the movie started, Leon could feel himself grow more and more nervous, a knot forming in his stomach. Why did he think it was a good idea to watch this movie again. His friend next to him didn't seem to care, his face wearing the same unreadable expression as always. As if he was watching a documentary on penguins instead of people getting chopped up by a man with a giant red mask and a chainsaw as his weapon. Character after character died, their screams echoing through the living room, causing Leon to shiver underneath his blanket.

"You cold?", Emil asked, scooting over until his shoulder touched his friend's. Latter didn't dare to reply, afraid his voice would give him away. So he just nodded and let his head rest on the Icelandic's shoulder. It felt nice. There was that smell again. This time, coffee blended in and the liquorice was more present, as he was eating it at that moment. Leon however hadn't touched his crisps once.

The killing in the movie got more and more bloody. The next scene was shown and the Asian teen almost let out a scream. The killer stood above a young woman with very light blond hair, eyes opened widely. Her whole stomach was sliced open and her intestines were all over the floor, resting in a puddle of red liquid. Leon felt sick.

"Woah, that's disturbing", Emil commented, his face still not really showing any emotion. The younger teen just begged for it to be over soon and he closed his eyes, repressing the urge to bury his face into the nice smelling shoulder his head was resting on. The horrifying sounds of people dying, libs getting cut off and the murderous chainsaw continued for a good 30 minutes, until it suddenly stopped, as If someone had cut the sound.

"Hey, don't fall asleep during a movie like this!" His friend sounded disappointed, shocked.

"I didn't fall asleep, I just…" Leon opened his eyes, staring right into the violet ones of his friend. They were mesmerising. Like deep pools of water, seducing him to dive into them and never return to the surface. He licked his lips, getting nervous. The older teen's attention was drawn to them, locking his eyes on the two half circles that hid his teeth and tongue. They looked very soft… What if he…

No! Bad bad Emil. Don't go there. He is your friend, nothing more. And with that thought, he ripped his gaze away from those soft, pink flesh pillows. God how he hated his brain's way of describing things. It made it sound like he was stuck in some sloppy fanfiction a fangirl wrote. ( **Hi fourth wall!** )

"You were just scared, I bet" The comment was meant to mock his friend, but the look in the brown eyes told him that Leon was indeed scared. Emil smiled wryly. He hadn't meant to hurt him.

"I'm not scared! I can handle this much. Also, I totally suggested we'd watch this movie, so why should I be scared?" How much the Asian hoped it sounded convincing, he knew it didn't. His voice was trembling and he felt his hands tremble.

The blond decided to drop the topic. He didn't want to unsettle the brunet even more.

"Let's go to bed." Without a word, they got up. Looking around, they realised how much of a mess the whole room was. There were pillows everywhere and the blankets took up a big part of the floor. They both sighed in synch. Without exchanging any words, they cleaned up, put the pillows back where they belonged and even washed the coffee cups.

After half an hour, they both collapsed on Leon's bed, both too tired to change. Emil kicked off his shoes and dragged the lower half of his body on the mattress, laying his head onto one of the pillows they had just brought back upstairs. It smelled a lot like Leon. In fact, everything in this room smelled like his friend. The blond turned around to lie on his stomach, inhaling the sweet scent that floated around him.

"Come on Icicle, we have to make your bed", Leon groaned, too exhausted to even move one finger. He just wanted to go sleep, after cuddling with Emil. Before he finished his thoughts he realised how much he wanted to hold the shorter male that was lying on his bed, just a few centimetres away from him. If he just stretched out one finger…

"Nooo~, I don't wanna", Emil whined, not lifting his face. The pillow muffled his complaints and the Asian grinned.

"You'll have to sleep in my bed then. Also, we have to brush our teeth. We don't want to get our 'mums' all angry, now do we" Even though Leon was just as desperate to go to sleep, he managed to drag his childhood friend into the bathroom across the hallway. They brushed their teeth, both already half asleep. Emil kept leaning onto Leon's shoulder so he wouldn't fall over. Too adorable in Leon's eyes.

Stumbling back to the bedroom and falling down onto the white sheets, they both seemed to accept that the Icelandic was going to sleep in the Asians bed. With a sigh the older teen draped the blanket over his body, feeling the warmth of the brunet next to him. It was nice. After a bit he rolled over, looking at his long-time friend, eyes half open. Brown flashed before him as Leon opened his eyes, smiling as he caught Emil looking at him.

"Hi there", he whispered. The motion of his lips parting and the smell of mint captured the seventeen-year-old's attention and he felt a strange heat spread through his body. These lips still seemed so soft, so irresistible… Unknown to the boy with the violet eyes, his friend was harbouring the same thoughts. The smile that danced around the lips opposite from him seemed so sweet, so… Inviting.

He managed to pull away his stare from those lips and look into the bright eyes above them, the violet seeming darker than usual. They were seducing him again, teasing him so he would come closer. Slowly, Leon moved towards them, giving in to the feeling that took over his body. He didn't notice the hue of pink that was now trailing along the cheekbones of his friend. He didn't feel the anticipation Emil was feeling. He just felt that he was being pulled towards those puddles of violet with hints of blue in them, as if they were magnets.

Emil felt his cheeks warm up. His eyes were set on the brown of his friend's iris, noticing tiny hints of dark brown and a bit of grey in them. The pupils in the middle of the brown ring had widened, not letting go of what they looked at. The blond gulped and wet his lips, causing the brown in front of him to shift down to them. Leon stopped a few millimetres in front of his face, the brown of his eyes was the only thing that was visible to his friend. He swallowed again and noticed the warmth that the other gave of. And without thinking about it, he moved closer to the warm face and the brown that seemed to cast a spell on him.

Leon noticed the shift of his friend and moved his head towards the violet at the same time the other moved towards him. He could feel the other's breath tickling his lips and he parted them, trying to make the feeling stop. It felt so nice, something touching them. It made them tingle, almost sting. Just a bit closer, he wanted to feel more. His wish was granted as he suddenly felt something very soft and warm against his lips, a little bit moist too. His eyes widened at the same time as Emil's, but soon they relaxed, both closing their eyes and enjoying the touch of the other's lips. No thoughts were dancing in their heads as they slowly lost themselves in the touch of the other.

The kiss started out softly and slowly, hardly any pressure added to the motion. Like feathers they were placed onto the pink flesh, sending warm shivers down the teens' spines. But soon they became more hungry, more demanding and their lips added more pressure, more, they wanted more. The pace became faster and they started to feel hot, tingling sensations racing through their bodies, especially their lower parts of their stomachs. The two teens realised what happened as soon as one of them felt the tongue of the other on their lips, if you asked them now, they couldn't tell who it was.

Breaking of their kiss, heavily blushing, they thought of words to say. Neither of them seemed to be able to find the words they were looking for, eyes flashed from the left to the right.

Finally, Leon broke the silence. "Thanks for the good night kiss. I thought you didn't need one, you said." Without waiting for Emil's response, he turned around, quickly hiding his crimson face in his hands. What had he done?

His friend thought of saying something back, but decided they would talk about this tomorrow. He didn't want to make things weird. Yes, he had enjoyed the kiss. It made him feel all warm inside, reaching every single part of his body. Even his little toe felt hot when they had pressed their lips together in a loving matter. But it startled the blond Icelandic that he hadn't felt grossed out by the touch. He hadn't pushed Leon away, something you'd expect him to do, right? But then again, neither did Leon. He had just continued kissing his friend until he felt the other's tongue on his lips. Or was Emil the one who had licked the Asian's lips instead of the other way around.

His head swirling with thoughts and his body all heated up, he suddenly felt tired, even more than before. While a yawn parted his now dark pink lips, he turned around, back towards Leon. He pulled the blanket closer and snuggled into the pillow. While still pondering on how this had happened, he fell asleep, only to dream of soft lips that tasted like rice and something sweet.

* * *

So, that's it for today's chapter. The reason why I am okay with giving you such a long chapter, is because I don't know if I will be able to post this soon again. Tomorrow (Thursday) I will have to go to the hospital for an ultrasound because of some problems I have been having and the two days after that I will be looking at possible colleges for me. Anyway...

The next two or three chapters will be about the wedding and what happens there, because it might be important to the story... Or maybe not, I don't know yet. If it won't be important, I'll let you know in my notes before, so you won't waste your time reading it xD

I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave a review so I can improve ^^

~Hana


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone, I'm back! Sorry it took me a bit longer to upload, I didn't really know what to write and I was a little bit busy the past few days. I hope this chapter is worth the wait.

For those who read my comment last time, this chapter isn't necessarily important to the rest of the story. This is about Lukas and Mathias at the wedding reception, Emil and Leon won't be in this chapter (sorry if you wanted them, you'll have to wait another chapter). There is DenNor going on in this, so please be aware of that. If you don't like it, then don't read it.

That being said, enjoy!

* * *

Even though Feliciano and Ludwig were his friends, Lukas didn't enjoy the reception all too much. Sure, the Italian looked nice in his dress -the Norwegian still wondered about his choice, must have been one of the German's kinks- and everyone was happy, but he just didn't like people all too much, unlike his boyfriend. Speaking of Mathias, the blond Dane had left his more quiet counterpart as soon as the bar and buffet had opened, taking advantage of the free food together with the Bad Touch Trio, as they called themselves, consisting of Gilbert Beilschmidt, Francis Bonnefoy and Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. They had been drinking for an hour now, which also meant that Lukas had been sitting outside in the cold November air for 45 minutes. Yes, he had counted them.

He sighed and looked over his shoulder, into the dimly lit room behind the window. He saw the newlyweds talking to a few of their guests, Feliciano smiling happily and playing with the frills on his dress, his husband standing tall as always, dressed in an overly formal black dinner jacket with a light blue neck tie and a white button up shirt. The Italian wore a necklace in the same colour as the necktie, giving them a hint of a pair look.

The dress was quite the dress, if Lukas were honest. The skirt was very wide and it looked like the kind of dress princesses in fairy tales would wear. Of course it was white, but it had a hint of light blue in it. The bodes was like a second skin on the light brunet and made him look more tan than usual. There were pearls attached to the top part of the bodes, mostly around the neck line. Further down, the beading was less, which made it seem like it faded. Around the slender waist of the cheerful man, a light blue ribbon was tied, which enhanced the partner look he had tried to achieve with his now husband. The ruffles of the skirt hid any hints of slender legs, which made him seem very feminine. It suited him, Lukas concluded, before letting his eyes wander through the crowd again.

He noticed Arthur, who was talking to Vash Zwingli, the butcher of the town. Because Vash had a love for cheese, the shop also sold all kinds of fancy cheese. If you had a party and you wanted something else than crisps and nuts as a party snack, you just had to go to the Zwingli's and ask away. Either Vash or his younger sister Lily would help you pick something. Right now, they seemed to be discussing something important, because both of them had stern looks on their faces.

Lukas lost interest soon enough and looked for another target to spy on. His eyes fell on Yao, who was standing more to the side of the room, together with a man the Norwegian had not seen before. He seemed a bit different than most people that were inside. Something about his smile unsettled the small male, making him shiver. Or was it the cold? He continued looking around, watching the people as he heard the door open. Before the blond had turned his head, he heard a greeting.

"Moi Lukas! It's been a while, hasn't it?", the cheerful voice could only belong to a certain Finnish young male, Tiino Oxenstierna.

Before replying, Lukas forced himself to smile a little at the older Nordic. Tiino was quite a character alright. He was 24 years old, had been married to his high school crush Berwald for four years and adopted a little boy called Peter two years ago, when the little bouncing ball was three years old. He was always very cheerful and cared a lot for the people he loved, Lukas being one of them. He couldn't stand it when someone he knew and cared for was hurt and he always put others first, mostly forgetting about himself. This was how he ended up very broken and hurt a few times before, he had heard. He was the kind of person that you could call in the middle of the night to ask them if you could spend the night and they would make you hot chocolate and wait for you without asking what was going on. He really was an angel, Lukas thought with a sigh.

"Hej Tiino. You didn't bring your better half this time?", he asked the smaller male with a smirk as he looked around for Berwald. It would be hard to miss the 25-year old, since he was even taller than Mathias and only a little shorter than Daan, who was the tallest of all the friends that were gathered here.

"I did, but right now he's talking to Roderich, if I'm not mistaken. But why are you sitting here all alone? Where has your big bother gone?", the smaller male asked while sitting down, referring to Mathias.

Lukas sighed again, he didn't want to get started on that big goofball now. Things weren't really smooth tonight, which had started when Mathias confessed that he had forgotten to find a babysitter for his little darling brother. Then they almost arrived way too late because the Dane just couldn't keep his hands off him during the drive to the party. Lukas had solved this by stopping and getting out of the car, forcing the male with the spikey hair to drive. And to top it off, he was sitting here alone now, even though Mathias was supposed to be his date for tonight.

"Well, just look for the noisiest corner with alcoholic beverages and a lot of food and you will find my overgrown child there", Lukas told his friend, the hurt in his voice showing slightly. "As usual, he is drinking until he passes out or until someone suggests to-" Before Lukas could finish his sentence, Berwald walked outside, a drink in both of his hands. Without a word, he handed one to Lukas, who chugged it down without blinking. God, how he had needed a good shot of alcohol.

"Thanks Ber", he said while Tiino chuckled. As a response, the Norwegian lifted an eyebrow. "What?"  
Tiino shook his head at the question, a smile still glued to his mouth.

"You rarely drink, only when you are upset. So, judging by how you emptied that glass within 3 seconds, I'd say something isn't going right. Want to talk about it?" The youngest of the three friends tapped his chin while he thought about the question. He knew that it could feel relieving to talk to someone about your troubles. He had heard Mathias say that many, many times after he vented his anger or sadness to Lukas. But, unlike Mathias, Lukas valued his secrets and emotions and he didn't trust anybody easily. He also didn't want to be a bother to the other people. So, in order to keep things lively tonight and not ruin the mood with his worries, he just shook his head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm okay. The Dane has just been a giant idiot today and my little brother has been acting weird lately, forgetting about Leon's birthday and not talking to him. I haven't seen Yao's brother in a few weeks now, so I'm just a little worried about them. But Emil, being the teen he is, won't tell me anything and just thinks I am an annoying adult who doesn't understand him." Oops. Now he had spoken after all.

"Don't w'rry Lukas", Berwald murmured, his voice as low as always. "It'll be f'ne, he's just a teen. He'll gr'w up sooner than ya think." With a pat on the smaller male's shoulder and a kiss for his husband, he left them again, feeling like he intruded on the conversation. He wasn't very good with emotions, just like Lukas. Which made it more difficult to have a serious talk between the two of them. He couldn't ask the questions in a way that made Lukas talk, unlike Tiino. They understood each other with half sentences. Most of the time that was nice, but in situations like this, it was better to let the small Fin handle the Norwegian.

* * *

Even though Lukas hadn't wanted to talk to Tiino, he ended up doing so. He told him about his worries, frustrations and things that made him lose sleep from time to time. Honestly, it was really nice to vent sometimes. After he had finished rambling, Tiino smiled at him, squeezing his hand. He had been holding it for a while now and Lukas didn't mind. He just felt relieved that someone had listened to him for once.

They sat there in silence, until Gilbert's annoying voice cut through the evening air.

"Hey everybody, it's the awesome me! I hope you're enjoying yourselves at this awesome wedding, Feliciano, you look absolutely gorgeous. If you weren't married, I would have hit on you tonight, for sure." The comment made the smaller man blush and the albino earned a glare from his brother.

"Anyway, since the two of you got married today and this is a party, I thought we should let the two of you open the dance floor, don't you agree?" Without waiting for an answer, he walked over to the disc jockey table and turned on a slow waltz. Lukas and Tiino had walked back into the big hall as soon as they had head Gilbert talk and they now noticed how the lights were starting to dim even more than they already were.

"So, grab your husband's hand, hold on tight and dance the night away. Just the two of you. Tonight is your special night, so don't let others get in the way of your romantic dance, kesesese."

The young couple looked at each other, both having a light pink tint on their cheeks. Feliciano smiled at his husband and nodded to reassure the bigger male. The blond proceeded and took the Italian's hand and bowed, asking him to dance. He then led his darling onto the dark wooden area, which was supposed to be the dance floor. The music got a little louder and the guests turned more silent –except for a few idiots who were still lounging at the bar, Lukas noticed to his disappointment- as they watched the two dance.

It was as if Feliciano was floating in the strong arms of his love, both wearing the most endearing smiles on their faces the guests had ever seen. It was so very romantic. And it made the Norwegian cringe a little inside. He missed Mathias. He wanted to be with him, hold him and dance just as happily as the other couples had started to do. One after another they joined the groom and bride, flushed cheeks and smiles on their faces. First to join the couple were Tiino and Berwald. They looked a bit odd, since Tiino was quite a bit smaller than his husband. Nevertheless, they seemed to enjoy the moment with each other even more.

With a bit of cussing, Francis had managed to lead his _lapin_ , as he would always refer to Arthur to, to the dancefloor, his arm loosely around the other male's waist. Soon all the couples were dancing on the dark floor, except for Antonio and Lovino. Antonio had tried to convince the stubborn Italian to dance with him "It's your brother's wedding _mi tomate!_ ", the Spaniard had tried, but the brunet just didn't want to hear any of it. He was upset that the older male had left him alone to drink with "that stupid wine drinking frog, the potato bastard and the overgrown Lego addict", as Lovino had said. Now Antonio would have his punishment.

Looking over to the bar, Lukas noticed that there was no one sitting there anymore. Not caring about his Danish counterpart at this point, he walked over and ordered a double whiskey, only to pour it into his mouth without even thinking about it twice.

"Another!", he demanded, his voice angered. The bartender only looked at him with one eyebrow raised, but was wise enough to not say anything. He hated dealing with angry customers, but they were nice, since they always wanted a lot more to drink than any normal person. Yes, sad and angry people, those were the ones that really made business interesting for him.

After three more whiskeys, the Norwegian decided to take things slower now. He hadn't gone out drinking in quite some time and he started to feel a bit dizzy. He almost wanted to apologise to the man who had served him for his rude attitude, but decided against it. The man had probably dealt with worse. The blond sighed and combed his hair back. Why did he have such a stupid boyfriend? Was he not good enough? Was he not pretty enough? Lukas himself though that he looked nice in his dinner jacket. It was dark grey with hints of cobalt blue in it. He wore a white dress shirt and a neck tie that matched the blue of his jacket. He sighed again. Perhaps the Dane just wasn't that into him anymore. Even though their last night together was the night before. But maybe Mathias just felt guilt or emphasis towards him and didn't actually want to sleep with Lukas.

As his thoughts ran around his dizzy head, the minutes passed by. The songs had become more upbeat and the couples had started to dance a little more dirty, not only because of the songs, Lukas also blamed it on the alcohol in the blood of some people. Antonio and Lovino seemed to have made up, they were standing in a corner snogging without showing any signs of shame. Lukas blushed. They were older than he was, yet they behaved like teenagers.

A voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey there cutie, do you believe in love at first sight or do I have to walk by again?" The Norwegian almost wanted to hit his head onto the bar. That was one of the worst pick-up lines he had heard.

"Sure, but do me a favour and keep walking." Lukas was annoyed and didn't want to deal with this nonsense at the moment.

"That one didn't work huh? Let me try another one?" Without waiting for an answer, the guy continued with an even cheesier pick-up line. "There are 20 angels in this world, 11 of them are playing, 8 of them are sleeping and the last one is sitting right in front of me."

"Oh really? Too bad I don't believe in God, nor in angels." His grumpiness was increasing with every word the man said. Said man just grinned sheepishly and sat down on the stool next to him.

"Come on, don't be such a buzzkill. I was wondering though…" He stopped and seemed to wait for a response from his flirting object. Even though Lukas really wanted the man to be quiet, he looked up, trying to keep his face emotionless. Like he asked before, why did he have such a strange boyfriend?

"Hm?"

"Do you have a spare heart, because mine just got stolen by a beautiful angel who seems a bit down. Come on, Lukas. What's wrong?" The smile on Mathias' face –yes, he was the one who had been trying to flirt with Lukas- was a little bit sad, a hint of worry shone in the blue eyes below his crazy hair.

"Nothing you stupid idiot. I'm having all the fun in the world all by myself, I don't need you!", he hissed, finally letting his anger go. "Of course I am down, I thought I would spend a nice evening with my boyfriend at the wedding of one of our friends, but no, you had to go and disappear, drink and hit on girls while you left me here all alone." With that, he turned away from the Dane. As smoothly as the alcohol in his blood let him, he walked through the hall, tears burning in his eyes. Damn it, why didn't that stupid goofball understand? Shoving open the door to the garden once again, Lukas let his tears out, shaking all over his body. He hadn't felt this horrible in a while.

A few seconds later he felt two arms slide around his waist and a warm chin on his shoulders.

"Go away. I don't want to talk to you right now", he grunted, knowing for sure that it was Mathias. He felt a soft pair of lips on his neck and shivers ran down his spine. Curse that stupid Danish asshole, Lukas thought, wiping away the wet trails on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry Lukas. I should have stayed with you." After the apology, both of them stayed quiet for a while, breathing in the crisp air. The smaller man closed his eyes and let his breath slowly escape from his lungs. It was late, he thought.

Again he felt the soft lips on his skin, this time they marked a line all the way from his jaw to his collar. He shivered again. A pleasant warmth spread through his body, driving away the cold from the night air.

"I'm really sorry, dear. Please don't be angry anymore… We can dance if you want to, even though I really suck at that." The last statement made the man in Mathias' arms giggle. The Dane then felt a slight pressure on his chest as his boyfriend rested his head against it.

"Fine." That was all the tall blond needed. He grabbed the Norwegian's hand and turned him around. Bowing, he kissed the pale skin on top of the hand, a smile forming around both the male's lips.

"My love, may I have this dance?", he whispered, eyes to the ground as he was too afraid to look at the man he loved so much. For that, Lukas was glad, because his face looked a lot like Lovino's; very red.

"Yes, you may." With that, the taller pulled his lover closer, grinning like an idiot. His free hand slipped around the slim male's waist, squeezing it. Another wave of redness passed over the cheeks of the smaller dancer. They started to dance, slowly turning around each other, their footsteps muffled by the wet grass. Eyes met and love twinkled in them, the blue more intense than otherwise. After a few circles, Lukas let his head rest against his partner's chest again, letting out a content sigh. Mathias couldn't help but smile, pressing a kiss onto the soft hair.

" _Jeg elsker dig_ , Lukas", he whispered in between the kisses. The man in his arms looked up, eyes sparkling with tears in the corners of them. He leaned forward, aiming for his lover's warm and yummy lips.

" _Jeg elsker deg også, Mathias_ ", his voice just as soft as the other's. The kiss they shared was long and gentle, it tasted of alcohol and cake. The Dane was a little bit surprised by the Norwegian's confession, but didn't think any more of it and enjoyed the moment between the two of them. He let his hands run down the sides of his boyfriend, causing him to bite his lip. Mathias smirked into the kiss, he loved it when Lukas responded to his touch like that.

Their kiss deepened, hands started to move across fabric, feeling the body underneath it.

"Did I tell you how drop-dead, breathtakingly gorgeous you look tonight?", Mathias sighed as he let his hands glide over his boyfriend's bottom, which enticed a gasp from the smaller male.

"No..", he moaned softly, biting the older Nordic's lower lip. God, the alcohol really made him hungry for Mathias. Good thing they would be home alone tonight.

"Well, you do. You look so beautiful, I just can't keep my eyes of you. Or my hands", he chuckled, squeezing the Norwegian's butt cheek. " _Gud, du er uimodståelig. Jeg øsker at spise dig._ (God, you are irresistible. I want to eat you) ", he groaned into his lover's ear, feeling the heat rush across both male's faces.

They kissed again, this time their tongues joined in and they let their hands roam freely now. The hunger became worse every minute, they just wanted to devour the other right here.

"Mathias… Let's go- ah! Let's go home…", Lukas muttered, trying his best to suppress his moans. He felt the other nod more than he saw it and they separated, their breaths irregular and hitching. Without another word, the Dane grabbed the other's hand and tugged him towards the door, into the people filled hall. They scanned it for a certain couple, only to find them standing next to each other, talking to Daan.

Great, Lukas thought. If he was unlucky –which he had been all night-, the Dutchman would want to talk to Mathias for a bit, perhaps even invite him for a drink. And Lukas would have to wait, something he wasn't too fond of, feeling the tightness of his trousers becoming worse. He felt a tug at his hand and he started walking towards the three people. He hoped Mathias longed for him as much as Lukas longed for Mathias.

"Hey, Ludwig, Feliciano. Congrats on the wedding, it really is a great party." The Dane sounded just as cheerful as always, no sign of lust in his voice.

"Hello Mathias, Lukas", Ludwig greeted. Daan only gave them a friendly nod.

"Are you enjoying yourselves?", the man in the dress asked and Lukas felt his cheeks flush as he thought back to the kiss he had shared with Mathias just a while ago. He certainly had enjoyed that…

"Yeah, we are, but Luke isn't feeling very well. Headache and stomach ache, so I think we should be heading back…". Damn it Mathias, why did he have to play sick? He would get the Dane later for that.

Feliciano exchanged a worried look with his husband.

"I hope it's not too bad, are you okay Lukas?" The Norwegian just shook his head, not trusting his voice. He really wanted to get out of this hot, packed room and get those clothes off. He needed to feel his lover's skin against his, sweat dripping and hands… "I think you should go home and rest… You don't look to well either. Hot!", the Italian exclaimed as he touched his friend's forehead.

"We better get going. Sorry for leaving so suddenly", Mathias apologised, gripping Lukas' hand more.

"It's okay, I'd be worried, too", Ludwig said, smiling at his husband. The Dane nodded in response and tugged Lukas with him as he left, waving at the couple.

"We'll make sure to send our present and best wishes to you!" The two newly-weds just smiled and waved back as they watched the Nordics walk out of the door.

"How long do you think it will take until they will get married?", Feliciano suddenly asked, looking at his husband. Ludwig shrugged.

"Seeing how Mathias is an idiot, perhaps 10 years, if not more. Come on, let's enjoy ourselves a bit more", he said, a smirk on his face, before he pulled his 'wife' into his arms, kissing him passionately. " _Du bist wunderschön, mein Liebster_ (You are gorgeous, my love)", he whispered as he tugged a strain of hair behind the Italian's ear, earning a giggle from the smaller male.

" _Grazie,_ Ludwig." With a happy smile painted onto their faces, they danced off.

* * *

As soon as the two Nordics were in the car, they had their hands all over the other's body again.

"Mathias~", Lukas whined, kissing his boyfriend hungrily. He undid the Dane's necktie, red like roses.

"Oh my, Lukas, have you been drinking", he asked the smaller male. A nod in response, before their lips met again.

" _Hold kjeft og kyss meg!_ (Shut up and kiss me!)", Lukas grunted, pulling the other's hair.

"Okay, okay, be patient. Let's first go home, then you can kiss me all you want, everywhere you want", the taller responded, a smug look on his face. Even though his boyfriend really seemed tipsy and very horny, he didn't complain and Mathias fired up the engine and drove home.

Once home, Lukas' impatience continued. He didn't even give the other the chance to lock the front door, he launched himself at the taller male, wrapping his arms and legs around him.

"I want you…."

" _Oh min gud,_ Lukas! Do you want me to lose control? Because you are going to-"

"Less talking, more kissing." Not wanting to stop the Norwegian, Mathias obeyed and pressed his lips to the other's. They felt hot. His whole body felt hot.

"Bedroom, now. Don't care about anything else." And with that, he carried his darling up the stairs.

* * *

Sorry for cutting you guys off here, I am going to turn this story into one for younger audiences as well (as you may have noticed, tagchange and such). Perhaps, if you guys want it, I could write a oneshot of what happened between these two idiots...

~Hana


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everybody, I'm back! Thank you so so much for your reviews and follows, they mean a lot to me. Especially since this week has been a bit of a roller coaster and I didn't really feel like writing. But I'm finished! Another chapter, whee.

Without further ado, here is our awkward couple! Enjoy

* * *

The sound of his mobile phone woke the young teen earlier than he had liked. Emil groaned in annoyance, looking at the display to discover who was pestering him this early in the morning. It was Tiino.

"Hei Emil, sorry to call you this early, but Berwald and I have a little problem. Swedish mum just called **(A/N: His mother-in-law)** to tell us that she has been taken to the hospital because she got hit by a car. Berwald being the worried oaf he his, immediately wanted to drive there, but I don't want to worry Peter too much and just let him go to school. Since it's only 6 a.m.-" Emil groaned again. Six in the morning! God, why him?

"Anyway, I think you get my point. Could you please come over and help Peter go to school? For some reason I can't reach Mathias or Lukas…" The little Finn sounded very upset and worried, like he was almost panicking. Emil knew that their little son meant the world to the small blond. Ever since the awkward couple had adopted the little rascal 2 years ago, the young Finnish man had been fawning over the child and overprotecting it. Emil sighed into the phone while rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"Yeah, sure. But give me a bit, I'm at Leon's place at the moment and I still have to wake up and everything." As he spoke the words, he suddenly remembered what happened the night before. He felt his face heat up and it was probably the same colour as his Nation's flag.  
"I'll hurry up as much as I can", he promised the older male on the other side of the phone, hearing him sigh in relief.

"Thanks a lot Emil, and tell Leon I said hi!" With that, he hung up. What a strange person Tiino was, not even telling him what else to do or giving him directions to the school. Well, the five year old could always tell him where his Kindergarten was. With another sigh, the teen pressed the home button and stared at his mobile device for a bit, before hearing rustling behind him. He had forgotten about Leon already…

"Morning.." a low morning voice rasped and Emil turned around, a hint of peachy pink on his cheeks.

"Yeah, morning. Listen, I gotta leave soon, Tiino just called and I have to watch Peter and get him to school. Apparently something with the in-laws or something…" Not wanting to speak about the night before, the Icelandic teen rambled about his duty and got up, trying his best not to show his blush. He was sure he looked like those high school girls in Animes. Not only because of the memory of the kiss, but also because his friend looked very funny and adorable with bed hair… NO! Not again.

Before his thoughts could elope and get weirder, he walked out of the room, unaware of the answer his Asian friend had given him. His head still in the clouds, he entered the bathroom and stripped, getting ready to shower. Turning on the water, he realised that he had forgotten to take his soap and shampoo. Well, there was probably something he could use, he thought while he grabbed a towel. Stretching his arm out to reach the water that was streaming out of the showerhead, thought about the kiss again and mentally sighed. This was going to be so weird when he would be at school again… He felt the water getting warmer, up to a pleasurable temperature and stepped underneath the tiny streams, trying to wash away the memories and thoughts of his best friend. Was that even a fitting description for the dark haired Asian teen, he pondered, before engulfing himself into the shower. He was not going to let these thoughts ruin his moment underneath the warm water.

In the room the Icelandic had so eagerly left, a confused teen sat in his bed, looking at the place where his friend had just been sitting. What was that all about? His cheeks were just as pink as Yao's whenever Ivan came over. Probably something he would see today, since the two of them went to the wedding together yesterday night. But why was his friend so flustered and tensed like a school girl around her crush? And then his brain seemed to have started working, because suddenly an image popped up in his head. Deep violet eyes, filled with something he wasn't sure of what to call. A sweet taste on his lips, something soft against them. And as soon as that memory started playing, the Asian boy turned into a school girl as well, face all read and his heart a fluttering mess.

"Whyyy?", he winced into his pillow, his body feeling strange. "Why didn't I push him away? Why did we kiss? Who started it anyway, who wanted to deepen it? Argh! What is wrong with me?" Frustrated by the lack of answers to his questions, he started hitting the mattress around him, letting his anger vent without being too loud or hurting anyone. This just wasn't normal. You don't kiss your best friend, not even when you have known them for so long as Emil and Leon had known each other. You also don't think of them in an apron, he scolded himself in his mind, face flushing again at the thought of the older male in an apron, wielding a spoon in his right hand. God, that would look so good on him…

Leon pulled his head up, startled by the thought inside his crazy mind.

"I'm going to make breakfast", he muttered, no one but the furniture in the room there to hear him. Silently he walked down the stairs, remembering his brothers and the annoying Russian that were sleeping in the house. Of course, the sound of the shower made the teen's imagination leap forward, only to be pulled back by his rational part of his mind. There was definitely something wrong with him. Still as quiet as possible, Leon pulled open cupboards and drawers to set the table for two, picking up ingredients for breakfast at the same time. It would be a simple and quick breakfast, since Emil didn't really have a lot of time, he concluded.

A few minutes after Leon had finished preparing their food, PBJ sandwiches, Emil stormed into the room, hair still wet, his clothes unruly and his bag in his hand.

"Sorry, I really need to hurry, apparently Tiino's mother-in-law got more sick, so they want to leave as soon as possible. I swear to Odin, this better be worth it." With a roll of his beautiful eyes he grabbed a sandwich and took a bit.

"You know, I think you should be heading there then", his friend concluded, grabbing a sandwich himself. Emil nodded in response, still chewing. They then looked at each other, both of them feeling a light blush on their cheeks. What could the possibly be thinking about?

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Emil arrived at the Oxenstierna household. The young Icelandic had enjoyed his jog to the house, there was no one except for him in the streets, all the people were still lying in bed. He had never seen his neighbourhood this peaceful. He should have cherished it more, because the house he was about to enter was everything but peaceful. Peter was running around without any clothes on except for his underwear. The little puppy the family had adopted a few weeks ago was chasing him, nipping at the boy's calves.

"Oh, hello Uncle Emil!", the little boy greeted as he saw the Icelandic standing in the hallway, a hint of a confused look on his face. Just like his older brother, he rarely showed a lot of emotion.

"MOM! Emil is here! You can go now!", the boy proceeded to shout into the house, only to run of giggling and laughing, the dog still chasing him. It looked more like a big ball of furry yarn was chasing him, rather than a dog. Emil chuckled, but was interrupted by a deep voice scolding the little boy that had run into the kitchen.

"Pet'r! What did ya moth'r tell ya about runnin' in the house?" His father looked more intimidating than he usually did. Which was hard, given the fact that he somehow seemed unable to relax his muscles in his face, Peter thought. All of his friends had been scared of his father in the beginning. Even now, his friend Raivis was scared of him and always stumbled over his words when he talked to Berwald. How his mother had chosen this man, was a miracle to Peter. But then again, he knew no one who was as sweet as his father. The way he always made sure to take care of Tiino and Peter and since a few weeks Hana, was unmatched by anyone. Sure, his uncle Emil, Lukas and Mathias were also very nice. But Mathias was a big goofball, as Peter's mother said frequently, usually getting a sound of agreement and approval from Lukas. And Emil… Well, Emil seemed to have a lot of troubles lately, so he wasn't as focussed on things as Berwald. Papa. Tiino hated it when Peter called them by their first names.

"Eh.. Don't do it? But papa, it's so much fun! Hana likes it too and we need to lose our energy!", the boy exclaimed in an attempt to defend himself. The adult just gave him a stern look. When Peter didn't answer, he raised one brow.

"Sorry papa…", the boy complied, his voice small and his eyes set on his feet. The adult turned his head to look at the young male who had walked into the house a few minutes ago. A faint smile tugged at the Swede's lips, showing his affection for the boy.

"Hello Emil, good to see ya. Hope ya don't min' watch'ng Pet'r today. Sorry 'bout the time", he apologised, but the Icelandic just waved it off.

"Don't worry about it. I guess my brother and his idiotic boyfriend were too smashed yesterday and are now completely dead." The silver haired shook his head, sometimes his brother would be a little irresponsible. But only sometimes. After putting his bag with his dirty laundry away and hanging up his winter coat, he walked into the living room. He found the little boy he was supposed to be watching today in front of the television, watching cartoons. He heard him laugh as the cat got smacked in the face by a frying pan. It reminded the older boy of a certain Hungarian chef he knew… She was a devil, according to Lukas and Mathias, who used to go to school with her. She worked at the maid café she and her friend Kiku ran, Kiku being Leon's cousin.

A few minutes later, the little Finnish man ran down the stairs, carrying two bags full of who-knows-what, face flustered.

"Ber, we have to hurry! Are you-" He stopped midsentence as he saw the Icelandic standing in the room, looking a bit puzzled at what to do. "Oh, hello Emil! Glad you could make it so fast. Peter has already eaten breakfast, his lunch is in the purple lunchbox in the fridge. His schoolbag is in the sideboard in the hallway, he'll find it if you ask him to get it. That being said, he has to go to school at seven, so in about 20 minutes. It will take you fifteen minutes to walk there. School starts at seven thirty, so he'll be on time, if you manage to get him away from that stupid square box", the Finn said, gesturing to the television with his head.

"Does he know the way to school? Because I don't." Emil asked the question before Tiino could run of to gather more things he deemed important for the trip to the hospital or for his mother-in-law.

"Yes he does. But he is not allowed to go alone, if that is what you were planning to do." Emil shook his head. It was really amazing how protective the male in front of him was over the little boy.

"Tiino, we hav' to leav' now!" Berwald's stern voice called from the hallway, the sound of a foot hitting the floor rapidly followed. The Finn looked around once more, before walking over to the sofa, where his son was still watching the cat being chased by the mouse. The weapon used this time was a baseball bat. Emil smiled, he remembered watching the cartoons with his brother when they were younger. They sometimes still did that if Lukas had a hangover. But that didn't happen too often anymore, sadly.

"Peter, we're leaving now to see Grandma. Please be a good boy and don't give uncle Emil too much trouble. He's going to be picking you up from school, so wait for him, okay?" With those words, the motherly Finn gave the little boy a kiss, before hurrying over to his husband. "Oh, and if you need something, just ask Peter where everything is, alright? We'll hopefully be home before dinner, but we don't really know for sure. We'll keep in touch." And before the Icelandic could respond, the two were gone, peace returning to the home again.

"Well, let's get you ready for school then…"

* * *

The day went by quite fast. The two boys made it to their schools on time and they both enjoyed their time there. Emil was even more delighted than usual, since Leon avoided him, avoiding the topic of the kiss as well. The only thing the Icelandic had to hear about his friend, was Feliks who was overly excited for the party the Asian had decided to throw. Tonight.

"Like, we're totally going to Emma's big brother's club, _De gillende Keukenmeid_.(The screaming kitchen maid. Don't ask...) I heard that it was, like, totally hot! Are you going too? Oh, how, like stupid of me, of course you are going, you and Leon are, like, totally best friends." The Polish male sat on the Icelandic's desk, not noticing the mess he was making by sitting on all of the papers. Gossip was one of his hobbies, Emil knew.

"Well… I don't know.." His voice was not half as loud as the honey blonde's. He really didn't want to go to the party this evening.

The sensation of the last evening they had spent together was just… Intoxicating. It made his mind go blank, his chest heat up. Every time he thought about it, he was torn in between wanting to sink into the earth and disappear forever and running towards the other male and kiss him again. That last thought unsettled him even more and he hated himself for it. It wasn't normal to think of your friend that way, right? The sound of the school bell interrupted his thoughts and Mr. Beilschmidt started the lesson. This time, Emil was lucky, he had finished his homework seconds before Feliks had started to talk to him, so the quiet boy didn't have to clean the whole school grounds again this time. As soon as the lesson was over, he packed his things and ran out of the classroom. Peter's lesson would end in fifteen minutes and he needed at least twenty to get to the kid's kindergarten.

Somehow he miraculously made it on time and the little boy wasn't the last one to be picked up. On their way home, they talked about what they had done at school and somehow Emil ended up mentioning the party.

"But why wouldn't you want to go? Parties are fun! You get to eat lots of candy and you play games together. You also get to eat cake!" The little five-year old of course didn't understand that those parties were only things you'd do as a little kid. When you were older, you'd do other things. But right now, the older didn't want to explain.

"Well, we… Things are a bit weird now. He… Leon and I kissed. And I-" The dirty blond didn't let the older finish his sentence.

"That's okay, mum and dad do that all the time. They don't mind that. You should go! Think about all the sweets and cake! It'll be fun!"

Actually, why not, Emil thought after a while. Him and Leon were still friends. At least, _he_ thought they were. There was nothing wrong with going out for a bit, enjoying himself while he was at it.

"All right, I'll go. But we'll have to go shopping for a birthday present then!" Emil realised that he hadn't congratulated his friend at all today. This morning had been such a blur, he totally forgot about it. He grabbed his phone and pressed the speed dial for 'Jackie Wang'. He started to feel nervous. Peter just seemed happy that he had changed the teen's mind.

* * *

After spending nearly an hour in the toy store, Emil finally managed to drag the pouting five-year-old out of it. He sighed, he really didn't know what to get his friend. While he had called the birthday boy, the Icelandic had thought about asking his friend what he wanted for his birthday, but he could already tell for some reason that he didn't really want anything. There weren't any new games coming out until December and he already had the ones that had come out last month, so there wasn't really something he'd need. Being at a total loss, the Icelandic decided to browse a few stores. Perhaps he would run into something?

He started at the game shop, but was soon done there, since the little Oxenstierna started to whine again, this time for games and consoles. Being a little fed up with the child, he took his hand and hurried out.

"Listen Peter, it's not your birthday we're shopping for, it's Leon's. And I don't have enough money with me to buy everything you like. So, you'll just have to ask Tiino and Berwald for it." Emil said, a strict look on his face as he explained the situation to the young boy.

"But you could just buy more money, right? Mum always does that before we go shopping. We go to this weird thing that is in a wall and she types in a password and then money comes out of the wall!" The boy's blue eyes shone with excitement as he described the witchcraft to the teen.

"Eh, no, I can't do that. I don't know the password. We have to hurry now, it's almost time for the shops to close", the blond lied to the little one, becoming impatient. He wanted to go home and take a nap. He also had to think of what to wear for the night and he still had to do his laundry, since his brother and Mathias still had a hangover. He also had to ask if he could go… He suddenly felt a tug on his hand and he looked down at the child walking next to him.

"Can we go into that store? Please, pretty please? Mum always goes there and they have really cute stuff in there, like stuffed animals and keychains. I won't ask for anything ever again today if we go. Peleaaasee?" The Icelandic teen couldn't help but chuckle at the whines and pleas the little guy next to him released.

"I guess we can go there." With a shrug, he walked into the store, not expecting much.

For some reason, they came out with a small bag. Inside the bag was a little present. They had just been looking at phone straps, (because Peter said they were cute, don't think otherwise!) when Emil stumbled upon one with a little panda attached to it. It reminded him of the stuffed animal his friend used to carry around all the time when they were younger and the Icelandic couldn't help himself but to buy it as a gift, only realising afterwards that it was a pretty girly gift. But it was better than nothing, he reasoned with himself. Somewhere in his mind he was afraid that his friend would laugh at him, but he pushed that thought away in a very far corner.

A long yawn from the little boy alerted Emil that it was time to leave and prepare some food for the two of them. It had already become dark and his phone showed that it was past five. He also noticed that he had a missed call from his brother. He sighed and hit re-dial, looking at the little blond that was still holding his hand.

"Should I carry you?" The child nodded, sucking his thumb. He was a little too old for that and his parents tried to stop the behaviour. But when he got really tired, he couldn't help but fall back into his old habit.

The teen stood still, pressing his phone to his cheek with his shoulder, while holding out his arms towards the tiny human, the bag hanging from his wrist.  
"Come here then, we'll go home soon." Another nod, Peter was really tired.

"Hello?" The voice on the other side of the phone sounded tired, not as emotionless as usually.

"Hey Lukas, I saw you called. I'll be home soon, I'm watching over Peter at the moment. We went shopping for a present for Leon. Speaking about L-leon, tonight he's apparently hosting a party at _De gillende Keukenmeid_ and I was wondering if I could go…" Usually the older Bondevik was quite protective over his little brother, so the younger one was a little worried he wouldn't let him go.

"Sure, should we watch Peter for the time being? Do you know when Tiino and Berwald will be home again?", he asked, thinking quickly. He knew that his little brother was very picky about his clothing and that he would probably need an hour to select the right one. Since he hadn't been home yet, he most likely needed a shower, something to eat and god knows what else he needed to do.

"That would be great. We'll be home in about 20 minutes, so if you guys could prepare something to eat…" Emil was glad his brother decided to be cool for once, a little smile appeared on his face.

"That's fine, see you in twenty minutes." With that, the Icelandic ended the call. After putting his phone away, he started walking towards home, a little sleeping Peter in his arms.

* * *

Lukas' assumptions had been right. Shortly after dinner, his younger brother disappeared into his bedroom, turning on the music as he started sorting out his clothes. From time to time Mathias, Lukas and Peter would hear muffled sounds of irritation, but other than that it was quiet. While the Norwegian had been preparing dinner, his boyfriend had called the other Oxenstierna's to inform them that their little precious was now at the Bondevik-Køhler household. He was currently sleeping on the couch, holding the Norwegians little pink bunny stuffed animal, wrapped up in a blanket with the Danish flag on it. No one had to ask whom the blanket belonged to.

About an hour later, the youngest occupant of the house walked down the stairs. He was wearing a light mauve coloured jumper with a wide neckline, exposing the halters of the black tank top he was wearing underneath it. His legs were covered by tight black jeans, showing off how slim they were. His feet were trapped in low army like shoes, which gave him a more masculine look, the Icelandic found. His hair was freshly washed and smelled of honey. A hint of pink showed the younger Nordic's excitement, the rest of his face untouched by the nerves fluttering in his gut.

"Ready to go? Need a lift", the Dane asked, waving his car keys. "Lukas wanted to finish some work, so he can't drive ya", the tall man apologised.

"Don't worry about it, I don't mind it when you drive. Besides, you won't behave like a mother and ask me five times whether I have my phone, keys and wallet before we're even out of the driveway." Mathias couldn't help but chuckle at the response. It was true that his boyfriend behaved like a mother towards the younger Bondevik from time to time, something Emil really didn't like.

"Alright, let's go then. Do you know when the party is over?", the 24-year old asked, grabbing his coat.

"No, but I think I shouldn't stay out too late. Gotta catch up on homework. Is 12 okay with you? Assuming that Lukas will be sleeping by that time…" Unlike common belief, the oldest of the Bondevik duo really treasured his sleep. He didn't mind a party once in a while, but the day after he'd be really cranky, because of his lack of sleep. Usually he would head to bed around eleven, mostly joined by Mathias. For his own safety, Emil either went to bed before them, or he made sure to stay up long enough for them to finish whatever they were doing, before going to his own bedroom. He also protected himself with his headphones most of the time. It was quite effective.

"Twelve sounds fine. If you want to stay longer or if I have to pick you up earlier, just text me, alright?" Emil nodded and the two males got into the dark blue Volkswagen station. In the car, they were both silent, both lost in thoughts about someone else. The music coming from the radio was the only sound that pierced the silence, something Emil was thankful for. The ride to the club wasn't very long and soon they arrived, the party already going on.

"Well, have fun and be safe!", Mathias cheered, sending the younger a wink, accompanied by a smirk. The other only rolled his eyes.

"Bye Mathias and thanks for the ride", he said, his voice showing a hint of annoyance. With that, the car drove away, leaving the young Nordic alone in front of the building.

The name was flashy, written in pink letters that lit up the darkness. The smell of alcohol was filling the air, sounds from inside seeped out as the door was opened.

"Hey Emil, I'm like, totally glad you made it! I wasn't too sure whether you'd like, come. You look totally fabulous BTW." The voice of the Pole was laced with excitement, his eyes sparkling in the dim light that was trying to get out of the building.

"Yeah...", Emil responded with a sigh, fumbling his clothes. He was nervous, but he went inside anyway, clasping onto the package in his hand. Well, here goes nothing…

* * *

So many page breaks, so so many.. Sorry for that guys, I just couldn't think of things that could happen. Yeah, about that name for the club... My little brother came up with it. It doesn't make sense at all, but I just thought it was very catchy.

I think Poland is one of my favourite characters to write a dialogue for, it's so funny ^^ Regarding the next chapter, be prepared for more awkwardness

~Hana


	6. Chapter 6

Hey there, trustworthy readers! First of all, thank you so so so so so so so much for your favs, views, reviews and follows! Currently, I have 21 followers, 8 favourites, 9 reviews and more than one-thousand-one-hundred views. *faints* Really, you probably have no idea how much this means to me. It really helps me to keep writing, especially the reviews, because I love hearing from you guys! I'm sorry that I don't respond to them (yet), I am quite busy at the moment. Nevertheless, I decided it was time for another chapter to reward you all!

Thank you so much for reading, and enjoy!

* * *

The music in the club massaged his ears, giving him a headache immediately. There were quite a few people, for that, Emil was quite grateful. It meant that Leon would have his hands full with other peers who would want to congratulate him and give him presents. The room wasn't very big for it being a club, the curtains to the right were closed. The Icelandic knew that one could open these curtains to broaden the dance floor, but since Leon probably hadn't invited a few hundred people, that wasn't necessary.

After his eyes had adjusted to the dim light that was hugging the room, he noticed a few people he knew. Emma and her brother Henri were talking to Louise in the corner, all of them holding a drink. Looking more to the right, he noticed Toris, who waved at the platinum blond as soon as he spotted him.

"I'll be saying 'hi' to Toris. I hope you don't mind too much, but I guess not, since there are, like, totally more people to talk to. And for once they have alcohol. I think that's totally because Daan loves that stuff and he knows that most of us have totally been drinking before at, like, home or something." The shy teen just nodded, watching the fabulous blond dance away towards his friend. Or lover, but that was a secret they didn't want anyone to find out, Emil knew.

His thoughts were harshly interrupted by a loud, obnoxious laugh that pounded into his ear, just before he felt himself getting pulled down to the left.

"Hey there Iceprince, HAHAHAHA! Glad you made it to this awesome party. Have you seen the birthday boy, because I have an awesome gift for him. And I'm looking for burgers, HAHAHAHA!"

"Al, you're loud!" Even though Matthew, the more timid of the twins, spoke with a much softer voice, Emil heard him. The Jones' twins were quite an odd pair, almost extremes when it came to personality differences. Alfred, the younger one, was loud, hyper and loved anything that had something to do with fast food, loud country music and being awesome. His older twin, Matthew, was a quiet person and you'd forget about him because he almost never spoke. But he was very smart and both of the Jones' were very loving. They always stuck together and protected each other. The Icelandic teen didn't really know what to think of them, but Leon liked to hang around with Alfred and play pranks on the teachers.

As a response to Alfred's loud question, Emil shook his head, before opening his mouth.

"No, I just arrived here and haven't been able to say 'hello' to him yet, so sorry. But maybe you can find burgers at the bar", he opted, trying to smile. He was already mentally preparing himself for the boisterous volume of the other teen's voice.

"Alright, thank you, HAHAHAHA!" The duo walked away, leaving the Icelandic standing in front of the entrance, feeling lost. He is saved after a while by his best friend.

"Hey, Emil! Didn't think you'd come, because I totally forgot to tell you about this. Sorry about that. I was wondering if you'd, like, play spin the bottle with us. Pretty please? Don't say it's childish, I know it is. But the girls insisted we'd play it, since it's a rare opportunity or something like that." For some reason the Asian seemed very eager to bring the Icelandic into the circle of people that were sitting on the dance floor. Pretty much all of the guests had gathered, a bottle of clear liquid in the middle.

"Alright, but just this once…" Emil agreed, this couldn't be so bad, could it? Well…

Friendly greetings were thrown his way as soon as he walked towards the circle. Most of their classmates were there, a few younger siblings had been invited as well. Yao must have thought this was the perfect opportunity to get his house quiet for once, since Yong Soo and Hyong also had joined the party. Henri, Victoria and Raivis had also been invited, otherwise the 14-year old twins would feel awkward. At least, that was Emil's explanation for the younger teens attendance. The first thing he heard after he sat down, was Emma's voice. She was trying to get everyone's attention so she could explain the rules.

"Alright, it's pretty simple. Everyone who is older than 16 can drink, the others can't. We spin the bottle and the person it points to has to choose between a shot, truth or dare. Or, in case you are under 16, just truth or dare. To make this more fun, I get to ask the questions. Any objections?" A devilish grin had set on her face and her eyes seemed to overflow with mischief. But she had a strong character and no one would dare to go against her and not agree. There had been a few cases where someone had disagreed with her, and that never ended pretty. Emma, Louise and Lily were well known around the school. They weren't bitches or mean, they just knew ways to make your life annoying. They were the matchmakers and they seemed to know who loved who. Not just a few people, but for the whole school. If you needed help in your love life, you asked these three. Since everyone had someone special, no one wanted to be on their bad side, especially Emma's. So, they all choose to go along with the young blonde.

"So, who wants to spin first?", she asked, looking around in the circle. "Personally, I think Leon should spin, since it's his birthday. The other guests seemed to agree, noises of agreement and nodding heads were their responses. "Well, go ahead!", she cheered, gesturing towards the bottle. The Asian shrugged, before laying his hand on the bottle and giving it a spin. The first victim of the glass container was Toris. Even though it was not very bright in the room, Emil noticed a nervous blush on the younger teen's cheeks. He played with the hem of his shirt, too scared to look the Dutch-Belgian in the eyes. "I.. eh.. Dare, please". The Lithuanian wasn't a weakling, he'd show them. And Feliks of course.

"Hm hmm", she chuckled, looking at the poor soul. "What shall we make you do…" Her slim finger tapped against her chin as she was brooding on an idea. "I know, I dare you to kiss Feliks." The smile on her face became wider and Emil swore he could see pointy horns sticking out of her hair and a tail curling around her legs. That woman was a devil, he noted to himself. Better stay clear from her later. While the Icelandic was thinking about his own life, he failed to notice that the two people that had been involved in the dare were looking at each other, their faces inching closer.

"Don't worry Liet, I like, totally got this." For some reason Feliks had been calling Toris 'Liet' ever since kindergarten, the other never said anything about it, so it had become a habit. The brunet didn't say anything to his friend, he just licked his lips.

For some reason it was different to kiss your secret lover in front of all these people, Toris thought. The blond, feminine male and him couldn't say "Let's just do this like we always do, no worries". It just made the Lithuanian so very nervous. The Pole and him never kissed in public, always in secret. Behind the bike stalls after class, in the library when Matthew and Louise weren't there and all the other students had already been sent home, in their own rooms when no one was home… To do it in front of their friends all of a sudden, was a bit weird, to say the least.

Toris was so caught up in his thoughts that he missed the moment where his lover had come closer. He was pulled out of his day dreams and worries by a familiar warm and soft feeling on his lips: Feliks' lips. They tasted like cranberry and vodka, probably from the Cosmopolitan **(1.)** he had been sipping on a little while ago. The lipstick the Pole was wearing stuck to his boyfriends' lips, giving the kiss a very strange feeling. They both loved that feeling and Toris was, to be quite honest, addicted to the feeling, something he would never admit to his better half. It also looked very cute when the blonde's lips were shiny and looked as if they were wet. So much more kissable…

Since both of them had their eyes closed, they didn't see the look Lily, Emma and Louise shared. It was easy to read for all the other guests that were sitting in the circle. Something among: "I told you so!", "I knew I was right" and "OMG Finally!" was written in their eyes, happy smiles tugging at their mouths. Emil felt his face heat up as he looked at his two classmates pressing their lips together, softly. They looked so blissful, so… Happy. Had he looked that way when Leon had kissed him last night? Had their cheeks been such a pretty shade of pink? Had their lips looked just as soft and gentle as Toris' and Feliks'? On the other side of the circle, his friend was having similar thoughts, a nice red shadow cast over his face. He wanted to feel Emil's lips again, he noticed. Thinking more about that time, he touched his own lips, feeling how chapped they were. There was no way Emil had enjoyed that…

"Okay, you can stop making out now…" The strict voice with a hint of a French accent, belonging to Louise ripped Feliks and Toris away from each other, the pink on their cheeks becoming more visible to the others. "Your turn to spin, Toris, since you completed your dare…. With honours." The French teen pushed her glasses further onto her nose, a wicked smile on her face. She enjoyed this game just as much as her friends. Judging by the blushes on the faces of the people around her, the mood was starting to become just right. The girl didn't fail to notice that her own crush had been blushing a lot, touching his lips as he stared to the other side of the circle…

The bottle stopped once more, right in front of her. That was unexpected and she didn't like it at all. Her secrets would stay secrets. Louise knew that her two friends were desperate to know whether someone lucky had stolen her heart, whether she fancied someone. But she would never tell. She wanted to do this on her own, without her friends' help. Without a word, she retrieved the glass that was sitting next to her, grabbing the bottle with Vodka with her other hand. After setting down the glass, she opened the glass container, the smell of the liquid hitting her like a well thrown punch. Still silent, she poured the transparent fluid into the smaller container. After placing the Vodka back into the circle's middle, she took the little glass into her hand, downing the content in one go. It burned in her throat, warming her chest and making her face fluster. Even though she considered herself a _mademoiselle_ , she could drink like a Viking if she had to.

The other teens around her looked at her with hints of awe and surprise. No one had thought that quiet and reserved Louise could drink like a sailor. The silence wasn't broken until the flask had turned to its next victim, Emma's little brother Emma. The fact that he was her little brother wouldn't protect the younger, oh no. Emma de Vries was a devil, and not a racist one. She would steal everyone's secrets, no matter who you were and what you believed in.

"Henri, truth or dare?" Since the boy was only 14 years old, he was not allowed to take a shot, much to his older sister's delight.

The boy seemed to need a little time to think about it, but after a bit he gave his response in a firm voice. "Truth", he said, nodding as to show that he was sure of it. In reality, he was really nervous. He had of course heard the conversations his sister had been having the past few years with her friends and classmates. He knew like no one else how mean and twisted she could be if you didn't play the game your way. She would send the person you hated most to you, after telling them that you secretly loved them. Or something like that. He never stuck around long enough to really hear the end of her plans.

A smirk parted the girl's cheeks, her mind clouded with happiness. She would get so much useful information tonight!

"Truth, huh? Alright, do you have a crush on someone?" Even though she was dying to find out who her brother had a crush on, she didn't want to torture him too much. There was more than enough time for that some other day, Emma also wanted her brother to enjoy this evening a little bit. The crimson that had spread across the young Dutchman's face already showed how uncomfortable he felt with that question.

"Y-yes I do have a crush on someone. B-b-but I w-won't tell wh-who it is!", he stuttered, as adorable as always. To avoid further embarrassing moments, he gave the bottle a firm spin, making it turn faster than any of the other contestants had. He hated his big sister right now… He would soon be joined on that feeling by the next two victims of the young girl, Alfred, whom the bottle had decided on, and Lily. Alfred chose a dare, "Because I'm the Hero, HAHAHA!", much to Emma's delight. She knew just the thing to turn this dare into something worth it's while.

"Hmm, you're so brave Alfred", she cooed, her sweetness being a mask behind which she hid her amusement. "Are you brave enough to give our little Lil a kiss?" The colour on the American's face after that question was almost matching the red of his homeland's flag that was printed on his shirt.

"I..- uhh.." His eyes shot to Lily, who could also match her fatherland's flag, it being the Swiss'. Red was a wonderful colour, Emma decided. Especially if it was on someone else's face. And it was kind of her fault.

"Well, what are you waiting for, I thought you were the hero?" Her comment made a few of her classmates laugh, their eyes watching the awkward teens that had been dared to kiss.

Scratching his head, the American got up, the blush intensifying if that was even possible. He sat down next to Lily with a muttered 'hi', before reaching out to her cheeks to hold them with his sweaty hands. Neither of them cared a lot, too nervous to worry about something like sweating hands. All of her questions were carefully planned out. Being one of the 'Cupids', as the three girls called themselves, a party like this was the perfect chance to get two people together. Alfred and Lily were one of the most important couples. Louise and Emma had been listening to the little Swiss for two years now, every day she would tell them about the 'cool American Hero', how great he looked in his bomber jacket or whatever weird outfit he would be wearing. The two of them had been crushing hard for quite a while, but Alfred was too stupid to realise that the timid blonde girl had also been head over heels for him. So, Emma and Louise decided to give the idiotic duo a little push in the right direction, the push being the kiss.

Lily felt the butterflies returning to her stomach once again as she looked into the ever so blue eyes behind Alfred's glasses, losing herself in them. They didn't hear the embarrassed giggles and teasing comments the others were making to their neighbours, they didn't notice the blush spread on other teens' cheeks. Emil found himself turning his gaze away this time, not wanting to remember the kiss he had shared with Leon. This night was too much. For Lily and Alfred, their kiss was like magic, sending off tingling sensations all through their bodies. They managed to pull apart before one of the others would say something.

"I really hope I don't have to kiss anyone…", Raivis whispered to his neighbour, Matthew. The older American nodded in agreement, he really didn't want to kiss anyone in this room. The one he wanted to kiss was probably in this building somewhere, seeing it was his property… Sadly for Matthew, the bottle decided to stop right in front of him.

"OMG, Matthew, you and Al really are like, totally twins! You even get to go after the other at spin the bottle!", Feliks' voice cheered, his face still red from his kiss with his lover.

"Yeah, too bad I don't want to kiss anyone." Matthew spoke the words, or more, whispered them, while he poured himself a shot of Vodka. Unlike Alfred, he could handle alcohol quite well. A shot or two wouldn't hurt him. Just like Louise, he earned quite a few shocked glances as he almost threw the liquid into his throat. The familiar burning sensation relaxed him, he liked alcohol, knowing it was bad. Just like smoking, but he would never admit that he did that. Only Daan knew he did, they often smoked together during Matthew's breaks at school, since _De gillende Keukenmeid_ was only a few streets away from the school…

"No fun…", Emma pouted while crossing her arms in front of her chest. It wasn't that horrible though, she knew Matthew loved someone who wasn't sitting in the circle right now…

The bottle was spinning again, carefully observed by the teens sitting around it. Even though most of them found the game either stupid or childish or both, they were all intrigued by it, anticipating the next person who would have to bow down to Emma's will. Alfred was in luck tonight, Louise and Emma decided as the bottle stopped in front of Lily. The young blonde blushed heavily as she uttered 'dare', not noticing the glance that was shared between her two friends. Emil did see it, fearing the two even more now. He really hoped he didn't have to do something. Or Leon. Before the Icelandic could think of a reason why he wouldn't want Leon to be chosen by the power of the bottle, Emma stated her dare for her best friend: Slow dancing with Alfred, adding a "You guys can join in as well" while winking at no one in particular.

The whole group got up, Emma and Leon walked over to the DJ booth to the left. Inside, there was a whole wall filled with CD's and LP's. They decided that they would use more modern technology for now, since neither of them really knew a song that was useful for slow dancing or setting a romantic mood. So they opened the internet browser, typed in www dot youtube dot com and searched for 'slow dancing songs', then Leon pressed enter. Emma got the headphones that were resting on the desk, plugging them into the computer. She listened to the song that played, the first thing that had shown up on the screen after the Asian had pressed enter was currently dancing through the headphones. It was from a playlist, the song was called 'A thousand years' by Christina Perry. It wasn't what she looked for, so she shook her head. Being the perfectionist she was, she wanted the atmosphere between the two teens to be as romantic as possible.

They continued looking through the playlist, her frustration growing with each song she had to listen to. Leon was feeling nervous, this was taking too long… Finally, after 10 songs, she found the perfect one. It was nice and a little more of a soft rock song, exactly what she deemed right for the two on the dance floor. The title of the song was 'Amazed' and the artist was Lonestar. Emma didn't know the song, but the lyrics were very sweet. As soon as Alfred and Lily heard the music, they grabbed the other's hands, exchanging a shy glance before starting to move along the beat.

 _Everytime our eyes meet_

 _This feeling inside me_ _  
_

 _Is almost more than I can take_ _  
_

 _Baby, when you touch me_ _  
_

 _I can feel how much you love me_ _  
_

 _And it just blows me away_ _  
_

 _I've never been this close to anyone or anything_ _  
_

 _I can hear your thoughts_ _  
_

 _I can see your dreams._

Their faces were bright pink and their eyes seemed to be locked in place, on the other's lips, and they didn't notice how Feliks and Toris joined the on the dance floor. Henri looked towards Louise, his secret crush, as he held out his hand, shyness draping off of him. Louise just thought it was cute, not interested in a romantic way, but accepted anyway. She knew her object of desire had left for the DJ booth. Still, she wanted to enjoy herself and the alcohol in her blood made her more relaxed than usually.

Unknown to the people on the dance floor, Emma and Leon smirked at each other as they watched the new couple dancing the night away. Alfred and Lily looked very adorable together, they made a really nice couple, the two devils silently agreed on. While the song continued, Leon's thoughts started to wander as he let his eyes caress the room outside of the booth his was in. His attention was caught by a certain person with light hair, who was leaning against the wall, seemingly interested in the people dancing around. Victoria, Arthur Kirkland's little sister, had managed to drag Raivis with her. She was jealous of Louise, since the French girl was dancing with Henri. The 14-year old girl had developed a crush on the young Dutch throughout the months she and him had shared in the classroom. But the British girl knew he was in love with someone else. Young love…

Since Leon had known Emil for such a long time, he was able to notice that his friend was with the fairies, his eyes didn't see what was right in front of him. Curious for what the teen's mind was showing him, the Asian considered walking out of the booth and dragging his best friend onto the dance floor and out of his fantasies, but decided against it. They still hadn't spoken about the kiss and he wasn't too sure what the seemingly cold person on the other side of the room was feeling regarding the kiss they had shared. Perhaps he hated his friend now…

The song ended and Emma left the room, Leon following her soon after he shut down the internet browser. There would be time for songs and loud music later. Perhaps he could dance with his friend after they had gotten tired of spinning the bottle? The birthday boy noticed that Lily and Alfred were no longer sitting apart from each other. They were sitting next to each other now, although 'glued together' also covered it. He smirked while he sat down, avoiding Emil's eyes. He knew he would blush if he looked at his friend now and he really didn't want to feel that heat on his face again.

Once more the dreadful bottle stopped, this time pointing to the shy and slightly possessive Natalya Braginsky, Ivan's younger sister. Leon already knew her before they had been put into the same class this year, seeing that her brother was Yao's boyfriend. She was quiet, but also very possessive over the one's she loved. And what would the 'Cupids' be, if they didn't know who had stolen the heart of the distant Russian girl?

"Alright Natalya, it's your turn. Shot, truth or dare", Emma asked, staying a bit more composed this time. Everyone knew that Ivan was a very strong person, he worked as a bouncer at _De gillende Keukenmeid_ in the weekends, so he had been through his share of fights. All the teens also knew that said bouncer was very protective over his younger sister. If you pissed her off, you pissed him off. And you didn't want Ivan to be pissed off.

"Dare", she said, her voice soft but solid, eyes twinkling in anticipation. She loved this game, but that was her secret. When she was younger, her brother and older sister would play it with their friends and she watched them, since between her sister and her were 13 years and her brother was older by 10 years. The girl remembered hearing cheerful laughter and playful jokes coming from the room they were all staying in. It was a memory she was fond of and treasured inside, now that her family had fallen apart. She really hoped this game would be just as fun for her.

"Ooh, a dare devil", Alfred shouted, glancing over to Natalya. "I didn't expect that. Though, you are similar to your brother, so I guess it isn't too much of a surprise." At the mention of her brother, Natalya's face showed a small smile. She respected her siblings a lot and cared for them, missing them every day…

"Alright, you ask, we deliver", was Emma's comment, her eyes now filled with mischief again. "Hmm… What to dare you to do…" Her green eyes were wandering around the circle, taking note of every (blushing) face. Some of the guests averted their eyes, in hope to not be picked. They needn't worry though, Emma was only adding drama to the scene. She already knew who and what were involved in the dare she had thought of. Her eyes rested on the pale face of the next person that was going to be kissed.

"I dare you… To kiss the ice prince, Emil Bondevik!" The poor soul hadn't been paying attention that much and he jumped a little when he heard his full name. Had he missed something? Judging by the blush on Natalya's face, he had. He heard a gasp from the left, as he turned around he saw Vlad. The Romanian was known for having a crush on the Russian girl with soft, long hair. Emil was getting a bad feeling… His thoughts were confirmed when he saw a worried look on Leon's face for a short moment, it left as soon as it had struck the Asian's beautiful features. No Emil, this wasn't the time to daydream…

He felt a pair of eyes on him and he moved his head, away from Leon. His gaze met with Natalya's, who was only an arm length away from him. The Icelandic gulped, scared of what would come. He closed his eyes, breathing in slowly. Again he missed the crucial part because he had yet again lost his attention. Said attention was harshly brought back as he felt something soft on his lips. Shocked, he opened his violet-blue eyes again, only to see a waterfall of silver hair in front of him. Natalya was kissing him! What, how?! Then he remembered the game they were playing and he felt his cheeks heat up, as if they were two volcanoes, ready to erupt.

On the other side of the circle, Leon felt the same happening to him, but not out of shame, but out of anger and jealousy. He didn't know why he felt that way when he saw Natalya kiss his best friend. He had already seen the way she had been secretly stealing glances at Emil for the night, at class there was no difference. The Asian didn't think too much of it usually, but now everything seemed to fall into place, as if he had found the last puzzle pieces and you could now see the picture clearly. Natalya had a thing for Emil. Great, he groaned mentally, now he had competition. Not that he would have to worry too much, since she didn't actively seduce him or anything.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Who said that he was romantically interested in Emil Bondevik, his long-time best friend? Who had ever given that idea? What had caused him to think that? Okay, there was this stupid kiss they had shared. But that was because they Icelandic's eyes were so unusual and pretty. (Something he shared with Lukas, to be honest) Oh, and that incident at the school grounds where Leon started to see weird things, like Emil in an apron while standing in the kitchen back at the Wang home. Or when they were at the café, talking to Francis. Well, the Frenchman had been flirting with Emil, more than talking, if you asked Leon. He couldn't help it, the Icelandic was just so beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful and breath taking…

…

" _Woah there, Leon. This sounds a lot like those manga's Kiku has lying around in his shop. You know, those sappy love stories where the girl is madly in love but doesn't realise that until volume 7? Yeah, that's what you are right now_." He thought to himself, making fun of his own thoughts about the Icelandic teen. " _But wait… That would mean… That would mean you are in love with Emil_." After stating this in his mind, the Asian looked over to his friend again, expecting him to still be kissing with the Russian girl. Instead, he was met with the pointy stare of the Vodka bottle. Luck just wasn't his thing tonight.

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Ahhh! I am soo so sorry for ending it here. I originally wanted to write more, but the chapter would have been around 8000 words long, probably, so I decided to split it here. I have already started on chapter 7. Wow, that's so many!

Like I said at the beginning, thank you so much for sticking with little me and this silly fanfiction. I never expected it to be this successful. Dank jullie wel, Dankeschön, Mange Takk, Arigatou, Merci Beaucoup, Mille Grazie...

1\. That's an alcoholic beverage, well known because of Sex and the city. It is made with Vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice and lime juice.

~Hana


	7. Chapter 7

Hey there lovely one, I'm back with another (very long) chapter! It was really fun to write and I hope you don't mind that it's so long. More than 6000 words O.o

As for the last chapter, I forgot to apologize for the crack ships and I also didn't mention who some of the new characters were, so I'll do that here.

 **Victoria Kirkland: Seychelles**

 **Vladimir (Vlad) Popescu: Romania**

 **Raivis Galante: Latvia**

 **Natalya Braginsky: Belarus**

If anything is unclear, don't hesitate to send me a message and ask about it, just like typos. If I make a mistake, feel free to point it out to me.

* * *

The bottle didn't move. It was sitting still, almost looking at him. Leon felt his stomach twist and turn, scared of what Emma would come up with. At this point, there had been three kisses, a slow dance and a question for a crush. Summed up, they all involved love. And love was the last thing Leon wanted to think about at this moment. He was already thrown off enough by his thoughts tonight. At this moment he was still in denial about the possible feelings he had for Emil, still claiming that they were only friends. Of course, the whole struggle was held behind his mask of cheeriness and mischief, not showing what was really going on in his mind.

"Ha, I'm not scared of that bottle! Like, I can be so much cooler than all of you! I want a dare!" He had said the words without thinking. Leon wanted to mentally slap himself. " _Great, now you challenged Emma. Of all the people in this room, you chose Emma._ "

"Oh, we don't expect you to be scared of the bottle", Louise said, her comment was accompanied by a few chuckles from the others. Leon could see his brothers hiding their smiles behind their hands. Emma was not hiding her feelings for the others, her grin was back and her eyes reflected the joy she was feeling inside. The Dutch girl had noticed the looks the birthday boy had been sending towards his best friend and how the two had been avoiding each other the whole night. Neither of them had talked to each other and she was pretty sure the Icelandic still had his present for his friend somewhere. She smiled again as she let her eyes wander back from Emil to Leon.

"Well, since you are the birthday boy, I think you should get a present. And not just from anyone, but from your crush. Don't say you don't have a crush, everyone has someone they care more about than other people."

Emma had a special person herself. He was handsome, tall, had green eyes and loved tomatoes, bull fights and paella. Or anything that tasted good. He was a bit of a relaxed person, sometimes people thought he didn't take problems seriously. His hobby was taking a walk with his lover. And that was Emma's problem. Her crush had a lover, a man on top of that. She shook her head, forcing herself to think about the game again. She would help Emil and Leon a bit. Hopefully her instincts were right. Of course they were right, they always were. Never had the cupids ever paired someone with someone they didn't love. If they weren't sure the feeling was mutual, they wouldn't set them up.

"So, the present your crush is going to give you… Is a kiss. Your dare is to kiss your crush." Her voice was triumphant, proud. Emma thought she had done a good job in adding drama to Leon's dare. What she didn't anticipate, was Leon's reaction.

"Well, there is a little problem though." Louise glanced over to Emma at the Asian's words. This was not going according to plan. Were they wrong? Had Louise been too busy daydreaming while observing Leon? The French girl was very grateful when her friends decided she would have to watch the teen. But perhaps her mind had been clouded?

"You see, my crush is not here. She lives far away. In… Iceland, to be precise." While he said those words, his eyes met Emil's. They were darker than normal, something shining in them his friend didn't recognise. It was sadness. The moment his friend had uttered the words, the Icelandic had felt a stab to his heart, as if someone had pushed in a dull knife, with the force of a Viking. It had hurt him to hear his friend talk about someone else he seemed to love. The brown eyes were sparkling with love, almost flowing over, it seemed. The blond averted his eyes, not wanting to see that look anymore.

"In Iceland? Dude, you have never met someone from Iceland, apart from Emil!" Curse that annoying brother of his. Of course Leon had never met someone from Iceland. Yong Soo didn't have to point that out. He already felt bad for lying after seeing how his friend reacted. Something was off about that. As if he were… hurt. But he couldn't, he didn't want to admit that he was in love with Emil. That was just… Insane. What if the pretty, beautiful and breath taking Emil didn't love him back? Their friendship would be ruined. He could never hang out with him again and that was worse than the Asian wanted to admit.

"Yeah I did, it was when we were at that museum with Yao and Ivan. Still don't know why we had to come along to their anniversary thing, but hey, I am not complaining. There was a really pretty girl there, light blonde hair, blueish eyes, slim, very shy. The prettiest I have ever seen. She is lovely, cares a lot and I can always call her when I am in need. She also loves to play pranks with me on other people, which we rarely get to do since she lives so far away. But sometimes we just decide to go on omegle together and prank them. She really is special to me…" For theatrical purposes, he let his voice fade away as he looked up, as if he were dreaming about the girl he described. His mind was indeed filled with an Icelandic person. But this was a male and he had met said Icelandic male in Kindergarten, not in a museum.

Emil felt his cheeks flush at the description of the girl. She sounded really nice, but he also felt a sting of jealousy in his chest. So he wasn't the only person Leon played pranks on other people with. How many nights had they spend on omegle together, typing away the hours, thinking of weird and funny things to say? He had lost count.

"That's too bad… Do you want another dare, or..?" Louise interrupted Emil's though process as she took over from Emma for a bit, the Dutch female taken aback by the answer the Asian teen had given. She was so sure he was in love with Emil! Perhaps the next twirl of the bottle would give her more luck.

She missed Leon's answer, but she was brought back into reality by the sound of a cap being opened. The Vodka flowed into the glass as if the two were long lost lovers. Within seconds the content was inside Leon's stomach, upsetting it and making him feel drowsy. Why had he chosen taking a shot again?

Indeed, the next spin of the bottle was more in Emma's favour. It stopped in between Vlad and Emil, leaning more towards Emil than Vlad however. This was her chance.

"Emil Bondevik, what do you chose?" She had raised her voice and she heard an echo of hit dancing through the hall. She looked closely at the Icelandic boy who was tugging at his sleeves, unsure what to do. He already knew that his dare would be to kiss someone. But he really didn't want to drink Vodka right now and he dreaded hearing the question the girl would ask if he were to decide on truth. How bad could a kiss be? He had been kissed two times in the past 24 hours, so a third time wouldn't be that devastating, right?

"I'll go with dare, just like the others, I guess." Came his insecure answer and he cursed himself for being such a shy person. How could his friend be so self-assured all the time? His heart was fluttering, hands were trembling and his stomach felt like he had been spinning around for hours. He felt sick. Sick with nerves. His mind was racing with all kinds of possible outcomes from this, depending on the question his fantasy made Emma ask. Because he was so caught up in his thoughts, he almost missed the actual question rolling from the blonde's mouth.

"I dare you to kiss Leon."

The world seemed to stop for him. Even though he had expected this dare, it still managed to shut down everything. His thoughts stopped running around in chaos, his heart seemed to stop beating and he held his breath. Never had Emil felt this way before. Nothing in this world turned him into such a mess of confusing thoughts and feelings. What was wrong with him? Why did those stupid words trigger such a reaction? His eyes were staring into nothingness, unaware of the people around him, who were looking at the teen, expecting him to move. He didn't. It felt to the Icelandic teen as if the whole world had been frozen over, just like winter would slow down every movement in his mother's home country.

A little nudge from Vlad brought him back, but not completely. Emil's brain still didn't seem to realise what was going on while he walked over to his friend. Because he moved on auto pilot, he failed to notice how nervous the Asian teen was. The now seventeen year old was playing with a little thread that was hanging from the bottom of his shirt, as if it was the most captivating toy he had ever come across. His breathing was irregular and the breaths he took were shallow. He was so nervous, anticipating what would be coming. There was no way around it this time, since Emil had been dared and not Leon himself. Also, the dare was pretty clear; 'Kiss Leon'. Both teens were so busy with themselves that they barely noticed anyone around them, not even the other. They both snapped back into their world when they felt their skins touch at their hands. Emil had instinctively grabbed Leon's hand, squeezing it.

Their eyes met and they both felt a familiar tug drawing them closer to each other. All the sounds around them, the music, the quiet conversations that had started among their peers and their own breathing faded away, leaving nothing but silence for them to hear. Leon felt his heart pound against his chest as if a blacksmith was working on a sword instead of his heart pumping around blood inside. For a brief moment he wondered if his friend could hear the sound of his life machine, but then he forgot all his thoughts when he looked deeper into those berry coloured eyes. They were sparkling. No kidding, they really were. As if thousands of candles had been lit inside of them, dancing in a soft breeze, seducing Leon while he stared at them, getting lost in the lights again. A blush crept over his cheeks without his permission, but there wasn't anything the Asian could do against it. He felt himself yearning for the touch of those lips again, his heart tightening inside his chest while they inched closer.

Leon wasn't the only one with a rapid heartbeat. Emil felt his heart spinning, making flips and twisting like it was a formula one racing car and not a heart that was supposed to provide him with the red life fluid. His cheeks had turned a pretty flamingo colour, joint with a nice heat that was spreading throughout his body, just like the night before. The amber eyes in front of him seemed darker than usual, hues of almost black dancing in them. They called him, cooing the Icelandic into touching those lips again. He did want to… But… Something seemed to stop him. As if invisible little threads were tied to his body, holding back every fibre of his body. Unable to move, he just stared into the eyes, getting lost in the many shades they held.

A firework suddenly set off in their bodies, warming them at a frightening speed. Their lips felt like they were burning from the other's touch. But it felt nice. Addictive. Their brains seemed to melt because of the kiss and they found themselves lost in the softness of the accessories of their mouths. They wanted more. More kissing, more touching, more…

The sound of a cough brought them back from their sky high flight, into the ill-lighted hall, back into the circle. What was that? Emil felt his face heat up as if someone had lit a fire underneath his skin. How could he have let his guard down at a time like this? It was the second time within 24 hours… He sighed and got up, not looking at the baffled Asian he left behind. The Nordic ignored the stares from the people in the hall, especially those from the Cupids. Things couldn't have been worse, he concluded. His mind was racing in chaos and he felt weird, his stomach seemed upset and his cheeks still felt like they were burning. A nudge from his left broke his attention span, a worried look from Vlad was cast his way.

"You okay Emil? You don't look very well. You're pale and your cheeks are red as blood."

For a moment, Emil wanted to nod, brush it off like it was nothing. But the undeniable truth was that he felt indeed horrible, like he could pass out any moment. A light whistle was ringing in his ear and he had completely missed out on the game for the past five minutes or so. Giving up, he shook his head.

"No, I don't feel well. I'm.. Gonna go grab a glass of water." With that, the Icelandic teen left Vlad behind, the worry still on the young Romanian's face. Then the strawberry blond shrugged, it wasn't up to him to help the icy blond boy. He also didn't want to quit the game just yet, perhaps he would be in luck and get to kiss Natalya…

Leon had watched the young Icelandic walk away towards the bar, a little worried. He wondered if he had done something wrong, whether he hurt the other teen. The auburn haired didn't care for the game anymore, now that his friend had left. The only girl that he deemed pretty enough to flirt with was Louise, but something told him that he'd better not try anything funny with her. Also, her friends were not to mess with, he had discovered that the hard way. Luckily, the flask didn't point to him again and he could just let his mind wander.

The first thing that sprung to his mind, was the question when all of this started. The whole… Incident with Emil. When had he become so fluttery around the Icelandic? A puzzled look spread across his face while he was thinking about that question, living through flashback after flashback in his head. Perhaps it started when the two of them had visited the Frenchman's shop to eat lunch and Leon had become upset after the blond male had flirted with Emil. No, that couldn't be the moment, you can't fall in love with someone just because someone else happened to flirt with them. Yes, Leon was now deep enough in thoughts to call the feeling inside of him love. But he wouldn't say it, not yet.

No, this had started before that. He dug through his mind as if he were looking for a treasure, a jewel of great value. In a sense, he was, since he really felt like Emil was something really precious to him. After a few minutes of thinking, spinning through memories as if he was reading a picture book, he found something that he had forgotten about until then. It was somewhere this year, when the spring had begun. The air was smelling sweetly of magnolia, the scent lingering over the school grounds like a blanket. Leon was waiting for Emil, it being their last day of school before their spring break. The wind rustled through the magnolia trees that stood broad next to the school gate and a lonely figure casually made its way to the school building, towards Leon. The sun caressed the silhouette's platinum hair and a rosy colour complimented the deep blue of the eyes. The scene took Leon's breath away. His heart seemed to skip a beat and a smile broke through on his face, nothing like his usual smirk. The Asian felt genuinely happy to see his friend walking towards him. Their break would be the best break of all times, he thought, remembering the plans they had together. Going to the new swimming pool that had opened a month ago, playing the new Assassin's Creed game together and just hanging around in his room until the whole house would be silent and the two teens would just whisper together. Emil would stay over, since his brother and his brother's boyfriend had decided to go on holiday together for once. Leon had immediately offered Emil could sleep at his place for the week and the older Bondevik agreed to that, after asking Yao for permission. That day, when Emil came walking towards him, magnolia leafs flying around him and the wind playing with his hair… That was the day something was set ablaze inside of Leon, even though at that moment it was a tiny spark. Which continued to grow without him noticing, until it was a roaring fire that consumed him. And that had caused him to kiss his friend.

Leon sighed while thinking back. Those were the times. When Emil hadn't been so distant, when he had not been a lady killer yet and when the two of them were just friends. From time to time he missed sharing his thoughts and secrets with the small blond male, but in exchange for spending less time, he had experienced so many new things. He had learned how to flirt, how to be a gentleman for the ladies and to kiss, a talent he had been able to use on his friend twice in the past day. And something told him that he had done a great job.

While he had been pondering on his fond memory, his friend had been sitting in a corner, hiding from the group. His head was resting on his arms that he had wrapped around his knees. He wanted to disappear. The young teen had been thinking about texting his brother's other half, the more annoying half, to be precise, but he didn't want to bother them right now. It was only half past nine and the party hadn't really started yet. Emil was sure Mathias would be asking questions and Lukas wouldn't get off his back until he would spill. No, he definitely didn't want to be in that situation.

He continued to sit in the corner for another twenty minutes, when he suddenly felt someone sitting next to him, interrupting his thoughts. The Icelandic refused to look up though, feeling too embarrassed for hiding from the group. Because that was exactly what he was doing: hiding, running away. The kiss had shaken him more than he wanted to admit and after it he just really wanted to run away from Leon. He didn't want to talk about it with the Asian, he didn't want to know why their kisses were so magical and why Emil always felt like he needed more whenever they kissed again. For now, he was satisfied with just sitting here alone in silence. However, that silence was about to be broken by the person sitting next to him.

"Hey there, Emil. You okay? Spin the bottle is boring, isn't it?", Leon asked, looking over to his friend. The other didn't say anything, he just nodded. They fell into an awkward silence, both trying to figure out what to do now.

"You kiss pretty well", Leon started and he wanted to punch himself. Of all the things he could have said, he brought up that one topic he wanted to avoid at all cost. Emil blushed like a young maiden at those words and turned his head away, too shy to speak.

"Thanks", he managed to mumble. This was so awkward! Why was he sitting next to his best friend at said friend's birthday party, talking about his kissing skills? Worse, why did his friend have to be the one to steal his first kiss at all? Yes, Emil had never kissed before. Was that such a big thing?

"Shall we go get a drink?", the Asian asked, just to break the choking silence between them. He felt as if someone was sitting on his chest. At the same time his head felt like it was in the clouds and much lighter than usual. Another nod from the Icelandic, Leon assumed the boy wasn't going to talk much tonight. He also didn't seem like he was going to move on his own, so the Asian grabbed his hand and pulled him up, before dragging him towards the bar.

"Two whiskey please!" Leon told the bartender, not thinking about Emil.

"What? No! I don't want to drink before I turn 18! Are you crazy?" Emil looked at his friend, anger clouding his beautiful eyes.

"Loosen up Emil, it's just a little alcohol. It'll make you feel, like, so much better. Don't worry, you won't get totally smashed from this", Leon tried, a smirk plastered on his face. In reality, he wanted to drink because he wanted this awkwardness to go away. That nervous, tingling feeling inside of him that drove him insane. The drinks arrived and Emil eyed it as if it were a venomous snake. It was obvious that the Icelandic didn't want to drink it, but peer pressure made some people do thinks they didn't want to do. On the count of three, both of them grabbed their drink and emptied it in their mouths.

It burned. God, how it burned. It was like Emil had poured down hot coal down his throat instead of whiskey. How he hated that sensation.

"It's not that bad, right?", Leon asked, noticing how his friend held his stomach after drinking. Tears were pricking in the elder's eyes and he shot an angry glare at the birthday kid.

"I hate you", Emil said, his voice nothing more than a weird whimper made Leon laugh. Still smiling, he grabbed his friends hand to drag him out to the DJ booth.

"Let's go play some music! I think it's time to get the party started." Since Leon had already taken a shot of Vodka, he was feeling the alcohol more than his Icelandic friend, the liquid loosening up his cramped mind and his tensed muscles. He was starting to feel more relaxed, even though the feeling of his friend's clammy hands made him shiver…

Inside the booth, Leon immediately went for the computer, turning on the laptop and selecting the DJ gear. He had asked Daan before whether he had the latest songs and such, to which the Dutchman responded positively. After a bit of scrolling, the Asian found the song he was looking for. Right now, everyone loved this song in the group. Soon the beats were pumping through the speakers, startling the people who were still sitting in a circle, their focus on the bottle. But as soon as the music started playing, a few looked at each other, asking them without words whether they would dance. The first to get up was Alfred and he pulled along his brother, who left as soon as Alfred let go of his hand. The older twin didn't seem to mind, he loved this song!

Throwing his hands up in the air and singing along to the song, he started to dance. Or at least, that's what it was supposed to be. Of course he didn't know the lyrics, he didn't speak Korean. But he knew the dance Psy had introduced a few years ago, and the chorus wasn't that hard.

"Op- op- op- op. Oppan GANGNAM STYLE BITCH!" Alfred was lost, Matthew decided, leaving his brother on the dance floor. Soon another teen joined him, Yong Soo. Of course he couldn't leave this out, it was his favourite K-Pop song! He stood next to Jones and they both grinned at each other, making the horse riding moves to the beat.

Lily followed, shyly. Since her now boyfriend was dancing, she couldn't stand there and watch, right? At the "Hey sexy lady" part, Alfred gestured to her, winking. The young girl felt her cheeks turn red and brought her hands to her face, not stopping her feet though. One after another, more of the guests joined them on the dance floor. Everyone, apart from Emma, Louise and Matthew. Matthew and Louise deemed themselves too mature for this, the Dutch girl just stood there and watched all her friends dance while shaking her head. She decided it was for her to decide on the songs now, before Leon decided it was time to play the Macarena.

Seeing the blonde girl walk over with brisk steps, he sensed trouble and tugged Leon's sleeve. It didn't really help, since the boy was having a solo party in the room, dancing along the song.

"Err, Leon…" His voice managed to bring the dancing boy to a halt, making him look at the Icelandic. A court nod towards Emma made the Asian look over, his smile faded as soon as he saw his friend.

"Uh oh…"

"Leon Wang! What do you think you are doing! Why do you ruin this party with that horrible song! Get out and let me handle this!" Without accepting any words of defence, Emma pushed the two friends out, shutting the door in their faces. There, now she could work her magic. Of course she wasn't going to change the song just like that, she would have to wait for the other song to end. Her brother had taught her a few tricks on how to be a decent DJ. The next song that played was 'Animals' by Maroon 5. It didn't really get everyone as crazy as 'Gagnam Style', but it was better, Emma found. Their movements slowed down and people started to sing along, moving their hands and bodies to the music.

Meanwhile, Leon had passed Emil another drink and the Icelandic downed it, giving op on staying sober for the night. Being tipsy wouldn't be that bad, right? Leon himself had his third drink and he seemed fine, so two drinks shouldn't be that much of deal… Sadly, Emil was someone who couldn't really hold their liquor and the second shot hit him hard. Leon decided that he liked this song enough to dance along, perhaps because Lily and Alfred kept waving at him, pestering him to join them on the floor. No party without the birthday boy, they seemed to think. It took a bit of pulling to convince Emil that this was a good idea. The Icelandic wasn't the most social person and he really couldn't dance, he thought. Halfway through the song, Leon had finally managed to pull the boy on the dark floor, grabbing his other hand as well and twisting him around. He felt a little dizzy, but the smile on Leon's face was contagious and he went along with it. Alfred howled together with the singer of the band and the people started to cheer.

After that song, 'Where them girls at' started and all the boys started to chant along. Alfred ran off the floor, only to return with his brother and Louise behind him. They didn't seem to like it that much, but once in the middle of the floor they decided to stay. The older Jones' twin left to find Lily again and Matthew shrugged, looking at Louise. She smiled at him and he returned the favour, holding out his hands. A little chuckle escaped the girl who had an aristocratic air around her, with a courtesy she accepted the offer to dance. Shyly, they moved to the beat.

At the part where the female singer sang "Dey dey deydeydeydey", Victoria started to jump around, Henri joined her soon after, since his hands were shaking because of the little girl who was holding onto them. Lily swung around her dress, Alfred still holding onto her hands, swirling her around and sending her bright smiles. Natalya and Vlad were also dancing, however it seemed they both didn't really like the song. Luckily for them, it ended soon after and the familiar beats and voice of P!nk flowed out on the dancefloor.

Emma joined the dancing group of teens, this was her song. Lily danced over to her, starting to sing with her, their hands pretending to hold a microphone.

"I'm not here for you entertainmeeeeent, you don't really want to mess with me tonight!" The two girls rocked to the chorus, their backs touching as they moved towards the floor, eyes closed. Their friends and classmates stood around them, looking at them and even clapping around. At the part where the singer sang: "You're in the corner with your boys and bet them five bucks you'd get the girl that just walked in but she thinks you suck", Lily and Emma both pointed at Leon, smiling brightly. That was their revenge for his shyness regarding his crush. There was no way that he was in love with a girl who lived in Iceland. No way.

Feliks decided it was his turn to choose a song now and he left the floor just before 'U+Ur Hand' ended. His choice was more of a dirty sound, the saxophone invited the girls and occasional boys to move their hips to the beat, casting a spell on those who had their eyes set on them.

 _Give it to me I'm worth it. Baby I'm worth it. Uhu, I'm worth it. Gimme gimme, I'm worth it._

Emil started to feel the alcohol bubble in his body, clouding his mind a bit and making him more relaxed with the situation. He suggestively moved his hips, swaying his behind in a very sexy manner. Leon felt his heart accelerate its beat while he stared at his friend, licking his lips. He never expected his friend to know the song 'Worth it' by Fifth Harmony, since it wasn't really his kind of music. The Icelandic had closed his eyes. He seemed to enjoy this a lot, so who was he to deny him this? Once his friend had his eyes open again, Leon paired his movements to his friends' hot dancing, until the song ended. They both were lost in the song, not caring about what the others were thinking. Lily noticed the pair and disappeared into the room with the music gear, this could be fun! They needed something even more suggestive and she knew just the song.

Instead of a dirty bass, electric guitars ripped through the air, the slow beat suggesting to dance with your whole body. Emil immediately felt it and he started to let his hands roam over his friend's body, smiling at him. He almost felt the Asian melt underneath his fingertips. He felt naughty and he liked it. The guitars were screaming again, chiming in for the chorus.

 _She wraps those hands around that pole, she licks those lips and off we go, she takes it off nice and slow 'cause that's porn star dancing!_

Lily smiled at the amazement that was on Emma's face as she noticed her friend walking out on the floor again, sending a wink towards her. No, she wasn't as innocent as some of them might be thinking. Right now, she couldn't care less. She wanted to dance and seduce a little bit, show that she wasn't as nice and darling.

Meanwhile, Emil seemed to lose himself in the song, dragging Leon along with him. The younger of the pair enjoyed the show, letting his hands discover the upper half of the pale teen's body. Somehow he couldn't shake off the thought that this was a bad idea though. Luckily, the song ended and his friend seemed to snap out of his trance a little bit. Soft music made its way to their ears, caressing them gently, inviting them to scoot closer. Leon still had his hands on Emil's sides and automatically pulled him closer, earning no resistance from the elder teen. He didn't mind, right now, the alcohol had taken over.

A soothing woman's voice sang the lyrics that were normally sung by a male. The only instrument that accompanied her, was a piano. She told the listener that they didn't need anything or anyone. She asked if the other would just lie with her and forget the world. Louise had chosen this song. It was called 'Chasing Cars' and it was a cover done by 'The Wind and the Wave'. The couples and crushes slowed down, images of the other lying with them in the grass, staring at the night sky.

The Icelandic teen had rested his head on Leon's, relaxing. He drowned in the smell radiating from his friend and his clothes. He smelled like curry, alcohol and something sweet he couldn't pin down. Ginger, perhaps? Smiling, the birthday boy enjoyed the moment. The duo moved around in circles, their eyes closed and resting their heads against the other. When the question came again, they looked at each other. The song had ended and another had started, but they didn't hear it. For the second time this evening, they felt themselves being pulled to each other. Closer and closer, until their noses almost touched. Emil heard a familiar noise coming from his pocket, but he failed to realise what it was, too occupied by the dark eyes in front of him that he knew so well.

"Hey, isn't that your phone?", Leon suddenly asked, annoyed by the sound that interrupted their moment.

"Huh? Oh, I guess it is", Emil said, a sheepish grin on his face. He apologised and ran out of the room, into the hallway, where it was more quiet. The caller ID told him that Mathias Køhler was calling, and for some reason the Icelandic felt glad. The stupid Dane had saved him.

"Hej Emil, I hope I'm not bothering you. But the weather is starting to get really bad and Lukas is a little worried about ya. I proposed that I would com' to pick ya up soon, it seemed to have calmed him a bit. But he still made me call you. So… Eh…" The Dane suddenly seemed to have forgotten his words, realising how stupid this was. The younger Bondevik wasn't five anymore and Mathias knew how to drive long enough to not cause accidents with this weather. Still, both of them knew that Lukas' will was law and that they had to do something to keep him calm.

"It's fine if you pick me up now. There's not much going on anyway and I don't really like the music." That was a lie. Emil had really enjoyed himself the whole evening, even if that kiss did make things awkward. But right now, he wanted to go home, he didn't want to risk encountering such a moment again like the one he had shared with Leon before his phone had started ringing. Thinking of the devil, Leon was just walking through the door.

"Here you are. Was it urgent?", the Asian asked, nodding towards the cell phone in Emil's hands. The owner of the phone nodded.

"Yeah, Lukas wants me to come home. He's worried since the weather is going to be really bad tonight. So I agreed on going home earlier. Right now, Mathias is driving here to pick me up. Sorry I have to leave so soon…" His feet were suddenly very interesting, he noticed as he started to fumble with his phone. Tugging on the strap, he remembered Leon's gift that was still in his pocket. Should he give it to him now?

"It's okay, I was thinking about calling it a night soon, too. Tomorrow is Saturday, but I still have to study for next week's tests. Have you started on chemistry yet?", he asked, smoothly changing the topic. They both dreaded the upcoming finals week, but they also knew that it had to be done if they wanted to pass this year and start as seniors next year.

"Yes I have, it's really hard. But luckily Lukas is quite good at it, so he helps me from time to time. If you want, I can help you out some time." He looked up at Leon, sending him a soft smile. The present could be given some other day, he decided.

To his surprise, his friend declined, giving him a sloppy excuse. Something about Yao helping him or something. Both of them knew that was a lie. Not knowing what to say next, they let a silence hug the air, relaxing into it. Their minds were feverishly thinking about something to ask or state, but nothing decent came up. Relieved sighs escaped both of them when they saw Mathias running towards the door, hiding from the ferocious water drops underneath an umbrella.

"Ready to go?", he asked Emil as soon as he entered the hallway, shaking the water off his clothes. It really was horrible weather and the younger Bondevik was glad to go home. He loved listening to the soft tapping of the rain on his window while falling asleep.

"Mhm", he hummed and looked at his friend. "I have a present for you, but I don't know if you want it now. I can also give it to you later, maybe at school or something? 'S that cool?" The other just nodded, he didn't really care for presents that much. As far as he knew his friend, it would probably be something to mock him with, like a dildo or something. Though Emil would probably not go that low…

"See ya on Monday, Emil", the Asian then said, faking a smile. He felt very tired suddenly and was jealous of the other who got to go home and sleep.

"Yeah, see ya." With that, the two Nordic men left, running towards their car, the umbrella barely stopping the rain from drenching them. Inside, it was nice and warm and Emil felt blessed for a second that someone had already invented heating in a car. They left, both of them silent and tired and their heads full of thoughts. The rest of the ride was just as silent as the beginning.

* * *

Whew, glad that's over with. Aren't those two such idiots? I wanted to take this moment to thank all of you again, I gained so many views, follows and favourites, it's really amazing! Please don't be shy to leave a comment, even if it's just telling me that you liked it (or not, that's also fine), it makes me feel like I'm starting to get to know you and gives me something I can see when I'm thinking of the people who are reading this. Big thanks again, you really make my day and I don't feel like I deserve this.

Also, I'm thinking of writing a sequel to my oneshot I currently have on this site, but I don't know if you guys would want that. So if you want me to write that, please tell me. I'm also still pondering on writing the post-wedding scene between Lukas and Marthias, but again, I don't know if anyone would read that. So, if you have an opinion about that, hit me with it (not literally please!)

~Hana

P.S. Sorry for the long A/N and chapter... I feel talkative today ^^


	8. Chapter 8

The next few days, Emil was a walking disaster. He woke up the next morning, still wearing his clothes and with a pounding head as if someone had mistaken it for a drum kit and had played a metal concert on it. Because he had slept with wet clothes on, he felt cold and he really wanted a shower right now. Luckily, it was a Saturday, so he didn't have to bother with getting ready in a hurry, grabbing breakfast and heading to school, only to meet Leon. No, he could take a nice long shower, which was exactly what he did after getting out of bed, lounge on the couch and watch television. But of course, every channel was against him, because they all decided to play sappy romance movies, soap operas and other shows related to love. There wasn't a moment without a kiss on the square device, so he turned it off again. Why did everything around him have to remind him of that stupid thing that happened between him and Leon? By the time his stomach started to complain for lunch, his brother and Mathias walked downstairs, their hands tangled and their hair messier than ever. The teen also noticed bright red marks on their necks. Great, another happy couple.

The reason for his grouchiness was unknown to him. Perhaps it was because he had been clumsy ever since he had woken up. First he had tripped over his shoes that were lying in his room and he had hit his head against the door when he tried to walk out of the room. Then, he almost stepped into the shower with his trousers and socks still on. Next, he poured in too much coffee while he was looking outside the kitchen window, into the garden, only to be alarmed out of his thoughts by the smell of his breakfast burning. This morning hadn't been very easy-going on him. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but think that everything was wonderful. The trees outside, even though they had shed all of their leaves weeks ago, the grass, that was covered in thaw. The birds that had woken him up at eight a.m. with their voices… Yes, even his brother clinging to Mathias more than usual was wonderful.

He smiled at his brother and his companion when they noticed him. Not a fake smile, no; a genuine, happy smile. Now, if you know Emil well enough, you will know that this is completely not how he behaves. This is as if the president would show up in his underwear for his weekly speech. Or as if the Queen were to dance on a pole at the Christmas speech. A smiling Emil, that was certainly something that you could call the newspapers for. The other two kept quiet though, mainly because it wasn't necessarily a bad thing to smile. Perhaps something good had happened?

The next day was even worse. Lukas had left for a meet up with Tiino and Mathias had decided he would work on some papers this day. The office the two adults shared was connected to their bedroom. The whole house was pretty soundproof, something Emil was quite thankful for usually. But because of the lack of sounds seeping through the walls, Mathias didn't hear the Icelandic sing along to all kinds of love songs that were playing on the radio. With his mind in the clouds, Emil didn't care what artist he was singing along to. Whether it was James Blunt, Maroon 5, Celine Dion… Heck, he even sang along with One Direction and Justin Bieber, two artists he usually hated and who made him cry out in anger whenever their 'singing' reached his ears. But Mathias couldn't hear his lover's brother, so he couldn't say anything about it. Only at the dinner table, when Lukas had returned home, was it when the two adults noticed something was off.

The usually quite hungry Emil hadn't touched his food and he had been sighing, staring at an imaginary point behind Lukas, who sat across the Icelandic. Something was definitely off. The sighing and staring teen himself, however, had no idea he was behaving that way. In his mind, he was worrying over Leon. But every time he thought back on the kisses, he felt a warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach and all his worries seemed to disappear. As if he were forgetting about them. Instead, happy thoughts filled him, things like holding hands, walking together in the snow, staring at the stars…

Sunday evening, the youngest member of the Bondevik-Køhler household had already gone upstairs, Lukas and Mathias decided to speak their minds. They were snuggled against each other on their large L-shaped sofa that had a greenish blue colour, a blanket draped over their legs. From time to time, Mathias would place a kiss on top of his lover's ashy blond hair or on the pale neck. Other than that, they were sitting in complete silence, no electronic device on, no music, just enjoying the company of the other.

"I'm sure you also noticed, but… Something seems to be bothering Emil. Or am I just imagining things?", Lukas started, moving his head back so he could see the man sitting behind him. The Dane shifted up, making it easier to look each other in the eye, before shaking his head.

"No, I noticed, too. He seems spaced out, as if something keeps running through his mind. He hasn't talked about it to me, did he say anything to you?" His question was answered by a headshake from the fragile male in his lap.

"That's why I asked you, I hoped he had opened up to you…"

They sat there in silence once again, pondering on what might be troubling their housemate. Neither of them recalled a moment this week that could have upset him, so it probably happened at the party.

"Did he behave this way when you picked him up Friday evening?", Lukas asked, breaking the silence with his soft voice. Again his question was answered with a shake of the head.

"Not really. He did appear a bit awkward together with Leon. Emil apparently still hasn't given him the gift he bought for him –whenever he may have done that-, so they decided he would do that somewhere at school. I don't know, to me it seemed as if something weird happened between the two of them." While Mathias spoke, Lukas nodded from time to time to signal his was listening. After his boyfriend had fallen silent again, he hummed, one finger to his cheek, the rest of his hand supporting his chin.

"I guess he will be alright. If not, we can always ask him later, don't you think? He's my brother, he probably just wants to figure it out on his own first." He yawned. When had he become this tired?

"Yeah… Let's go to bed, I'm feeling drowsy, too." Was Mathias' answer, before he picked up his lover. The action was met with struggling and kicking in the air, the smaller male wasn't too happy when the other carried him. Only when the Norwegian had been drinking enough, then it was acceptable.

"Let me go, you big oaf!", he hissed, before the taller set him down again, pressing a kiss to the hot-tempered male's forehead.

"Let's go." This time, Mathias held out his hand, which Lukas took with a huff. They then walked up the stair to their room and went to bed, falling asleep soon.

The silence in the house was abruptly killed by the blaring of an alarm. Emil's alarm, to be precise. Groaning and reaching for the cursed thing, the teen opened his eyes; he didn't want to get up yet. The whole weekend he had been feeling weird and he didn't want to go to school with his head like this, he would probably end up walking into the wrong classroom or he would give the answers in Norwegian **(1)** when he was called upon. He closed his eyes again and almost drifted off into peaceful dreams again, if it hadn't been for Lukas, who came running into his room.

"Emil, you're going to be late! It's already seven thirty!" The words his brother said shocked him so much, that he literally jumped out of bed.

"Oh bloody hell, why me!', he exclaimed while he ran around his room to find his school uniform that he had dropped on the floor on Friday after he came back from Tiino and Berwald's.

He had no time for breakfast, something he regretted. The whole way to school, his stomach let him know that it didn't approve of the lack of food, by making noises that were close to the ones a whale made that was trying to coax a mate. Luckily, the bus wasn't quiet, it sounded more like a group of baboons had infiltrated the vehicle instead of a group of schoolkids. Usually Leon would sit with his new friends, Emma and the other two cupids, but today he couldn't find an open spot next to them and all the other spots were taken, so he had to sit next to Emil, the only person on the bus who had no one next to him. Neither of them spoke, they both grabbed their headphones and listened to their music while the bus rolled down the many streets before arriving at the school, five songs later, as Emil had counted.

Once inside the school grounds, the ignoring continued. Leon caught up with the three girls and Alfred. The last one hadn't always been with the group, but the Icelandic assumed the party on Friday had ended in a positive way for the American and the Swiss girl. He watched the five walk towards the entrance and with a heavy sigh, he followed behind them, all alone. After a few steps he noticed Vlad. The Romanian had started walking beside him and they nodded at each other as a greeting.

"How was your weekend", the strawberry blond asked, sending a small smile towards the teen walking to his left.

"It was… Weird", Emil confessed. He may not have many friends, but Vlad was one of them. They could talk about a lot of things together and ever since Leon had started to hang out with the girls more, Vlad and Emil had been spending more time with each other. "Yeah, I managed to trip over nearly everything in my room, barely realised I was about to shower with half of my clothes on, hit my head and spilled coffee. Only to burn my breakfast after that. And that all in one day. I don't know, I guess I wasn't myself this weekend", he told his friend, his voice silk like as always. The Romanian looked at him with furrowed brows.

"That does sound strange, yeah. But maybe the daily routine of school will help you. You know, get your mind back on track and such. Say, did you finish your maths homework? Beilschmidt will kill you if you didn't finish it…" With a casual chitchat now going on, the two walked into the classroom and waited for the lesson to start. It was going to be a long day, Emil reckoned.

He couldn't have been happier when the bell finally ringed, announcing the student's freedom for today. Emil rushed to grab his school and he waited for Vladimir in the hallway. After he had joined the Icelandic, the two teens walked to the bus stop in a comfortable silence, thinking about all kinds of things. For Emil, those things all involved Leon. Stop Emil, stop! In the bus, they started a conversation about the upcoming school dance, which was held each year two days before the Christmas break started. Right now, it was the tenth of November, so they had about four weeks until it was held.

"I'm thinking about asking Natalya, to be honest", Vlad whispered, the girl he was talking about sat a row behind them. "But after Friday, I don't know if she will go with me… She looked so happy when she got to kiss you. How does she kiss, if you don't mind me asking?", he rambled on, his expression changing to a more eager one.

Emil internally made a grimace. He didn't want to remember that moment. It wasn't because the girl couldn't kiss well, her lips were soft and warm. But it was the look Leon had given him when she had kissed him. Something about that look was just… Odd. However, the Icelandic didn't want to think too much about that.

"It was nice, I guess. I haven't really kissed before, so I wouldn't know." He thanked the heavens that he was able to hide his emotions, just like his brother. Otherwise, the other would see straight through his lie, something that he absolutely didn't want to happen. Right now, he didn't want to think or talk about Leon, since he still didn't know how he should describe the feeling the Asian caused within him. If there even was a word for that… Maybe he should ask Mathias about this. His brother couldn't be trusted with this, Emil decided. No, Lukas would probably tease him with it or make a stupid comment. Not that Mathias wouldn't, but he was more serious with this mostly. Even if his serious was… Well, you know Mathias, how serious can a serious Dane be? He couldn't finish his conversation with Vlad, as the bus had stopped at the Icelandic's stop, two streets away from his home.

The house was nice and quiet. Lukas had left for work around nine, probably, and Mathias worked from home on Mondays. Emil had decided to ask the Dane for advice today, since Lukas wouldn't return until six p.m. The two men could just talk without the eldest Bondevik bothering them or making sarcastic comments. The Icelandic decided that the best way to have an excuse to talk to Mathias, was coffee. So, he walked into their kitchen, which was connected to the living room, and turned on the coffee machine. While waiting for the beverage to be ready, he decided to check his Facebook and his Tumblr. On the first site, his suspicions regarding the Swiss-American alliance were proven to be correct, both Lily and Alfred had changed their status from 'single' to 'taken'. Emil felt his stomach do a flip. Yuk. Had he seen it two days prior, he would have probably fawned over the change, but right now, he felt annoyed. Why, though, he didn't know.

The smell of coffee pulled Mathias away from his desk to look at the door, where he found his boyfriend's little brother, a mug filled with the brown, heavenly fluid in each hand.

"I thought you could use some", he simply said before walking over the milky rug that covered the wooden floor. Lukas preferred to walk around on bare feet and he always complained that the floor was cold, so every room had at least one big rug in them for the Norwegian to stand on. Since this was the most important room after the living room and bedroom, the rug was quite big and expensive, but it was used a lot, so that was alright. The frills of the rug tickled Emil while he made his way to the Dane, who had a grateful smile on his face. "Mind if I stay a bit?", he asked the adult while he grabbed his brother's chair to sit down.

"No, go ahead. Got something ya want to ask?"

"Yes, actually. It's er… I don't really know where to start. It's complicated. And uhh..." Whenever Emil felt insecure, he started to stutter. It really annoyed him, but he couldn't help it, so he had given up on trying to change it. "I mean, it's just…" He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before spilling his secret to Mathias. He didn't want to hide this any longer, even if it had only been four days. It gnawed on his mind and made him worry, it needed to get out. "It's about Leon… He kissed me when I stayed the night on Thursday. And at the party, when we played 'spin the bottle', he also kissed me, even though I was dared to do it. I was scared and I couldn't do it, and then he did it. And now I don't know what's going on and I've been feeling weird and…" He stopped rambling and looked at the dark liquid in his mug, letting the silence rest in the room.

After a few minutes, Emil looked up at Mathias, who send him a smile.

"Calm again?", the Dane asked in a soft tone, being serious for once. His younger housemate nodded, taking a sip from his coffee, only to burn his tongue. Before speaking again, Mathias thought about his words for a brief moment. "Ya know, it's not that weird that you feel this fuzzed. I mean, he suddenly kissed you. At least, I assume it was suddenly, right? Anyway, where was I? Right, you guys kissed. Twice. That's not just something." He paused, looking at the other.

"Yeah, he didn't say anything about it. I don't even know why we kissed in the first place. I mean, the first time… It was just… It just happened and neither of us did something about it. We still haven't really talked about it or talked at all, we just keep avoiding each other… Don't know if I'm too happy about that." Emil suddenly felt tears poking his eyes, wanting to get out. Apparently this was affecting him more than he had anticipated. It was good to talk about it with someone, he realised. It was annoying that he felt so stirred by the recent events. He missed talking to Leon, he had been ever since the girls had sort of snatched him away from Emil. The fact that the Asian had now kissed him without permission or a reason, upset the Icelandic even more. He just didn't understand. What had he done? Why were they avoiding each other, when they both seemed to be bothered by the kiss?

The silence took over once again while Mathias gently stroked Emil's arm to comfort him. This wasn't easy, it seemed. He had to handle the teen with care. Again, he thought about what to say instead of just blabbering out whatever came into his mind.

"So… How do you feel about this? Like, has anything changed?", he asked, looking into the almost violet eyes in front of him. They looked away from him for a second while their owner thought about the questions. His first thought was: What a stupid question. Of course things have changed. His best friend had kissed him and ignored him, it would only be natural for things to change. But then he thought about the question again. Since that kiss, his behaviour and thoughts had changed, as he had noticed before. He couldn't handle couples well, for example and he always thought about the mischievous Asian and his cocky smile. The couples made him feel envious, even though he didn't have someone he would want that with. The Asian… Well, let's just say he had been obtaining major roles in them many imagined scenarios in Emil's head and there were so, so many, that the Icelandic almost believed some of them had happened. And the last thing he had noticed, was that the world seemed a little friendlier to him, even though everyone decided to fall in love right now and annoy him with that. Honestly, he just felt like his hormones were messing with him as much as they could.

"I think so. I mean, I think a lot about him and I imagine things… But that bothers me a lot and I don't want it to happen. It's bothersome that he keeps popping up in my mind, I can't concentrate on anything. Also, I can't help but wonder about what he thinks. What if he finds that I'm weird for thinking about these things? Will he get angry with me? Also, am I sick? Is this normal?", he asked the elder, a slight panic taking over his mind. What if this was indeed not normal? This couldn't be something everybody felt. This was such an odd feeling, such a strange thing to happen to him. No one just kissed you out of nowhere, that wasn't right. But then he remembered Peter's words at the mall. With his childish mind, he had told Emil that it was alright to kiss, his parents did that all the time. And Emil wouldn't even have to ask whether Lukas and Mathias kissed, he had seen them do it many times. So why was he fretting over it so much?

"No, you're not sick and yes it's normal. Now you can breathe again", Mathias interrupted his thoughts, amusement showing through in his voice. Emil hadn't noticed he had been holding his breath while his mind had been imagining all kinds of crazy things. "Second, it's okay to think about someone you care about. It's only natural. They are usually with you a lot and you know them well. Also, you care about them, like I said before. Wouldn't it be weird if you would think about someone you don't know all the time? Hmm, somehow that sounded better in my head than it did after it came out of my mouth. Erm, what I'm trying to say is; don't worry too much about thinking about Leon. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, that's fine too. I'm sure he will also be thinking about you, since you two are friends, right?"

Emil nodded, chewing on the words he had just heard. Of course Leon and him were friends, they had been ever since they started kindergarten and they played a prank on the teacher on the first day (the teachers weren't too happy about that, though). The only thing that had changed, was that strange fluttery feeling in Emil's gut whenever he was close to Leon or when he talked to him. And that his cheeks would turn red. And that Leon's touch would make him feel as if he were made out of pudding instead of flesh and bones. And that he found the Asian strangely appealing.

"Okay. I'll try. But what about this: Whenever I'm around him, I get this tickle like feeling in my stomach. I think that's how I can describe it best. It tickles, as if I were nervous. But I'm not, because Leon is my best friend, even if we haven't been hanging out that much the last months. I also think he looks pretty. Is that normal?" He felt his cheeks heat up again as if he had just chugged down a cup of piping hot tea. Even talking about Leon made him feel all weird.

It took Mathias a while before he answered the question the teen had asked. In the dreadful silence, Emil started to worry about what the other was going to say. After two minutes of silence, he was almost one hundred percent sure that the adult would tell him that he was insane and that he would be taken to a mental hospital. He didn't want to hear the answer. Emil was still so young, he didn't want to go to a mental hospital. ( **A/N: As you may have noticed, the love for Leon is starting to cloud the young Icelandic's mind** )

"Emil" The soft voice from his housemate brought him back to reality, shock still in his eyes. "You're not insane or anything, if that's what you were thinking. What you're thinking and feeling regarding Leon is normal. I've felt that too for somebody. Still feel it, to be honest. I think about them every day, wonder what they are doing, if they are happy, whether they think about me… I also get this weird sensation in my gut area when I am with them, although it becomes a little less after spending a bit more time with them. But if I, say, don't see them for a few days, that fluttering comes back really hard and I can't help but hug said person. Also, I think they are the most beautiful person in the world. So, this is normal. I guess you're going through a crush. Oh, and please don't tell your brother I just said all these things, he will feel embarrassed."

A crush. Emil had a crush. Emil had a crush on Leon. That was impossible. Leon was his best friend. How had this happened? Somewhere in between silly jokes and pranks, he had fallen for the Asian boy with his annoying smile and irritating way of talking. Sometime, between late night snacks and Anime episodes, he had started to care more about his childhood friend than 'just friends'. Now that he finally had a name for it, the whole thing seemed more logical than anything. The two of them got along really well and they always were together, be it when they were playing pranks or when the other needed serious help, with homework for example. Or when they were feeling blue. So it was only natural for them to fall in love, right? But what if Leon didn't love Emil?

"I… So I'm in love… With Leon", he asked, still not really believing what he had just realised.

"I think so, yes."

Silence.

"But what if Leon doesn't love _me_?", he asked.

Another Silence.

"I don't know. I guess you'll have to ask him that. But maybe you should get used to this first. And talk about your kiss. When you're ready for that." Emil nodded, he would do that. Maybe this week. Or next week. He didn't feel ready for the conversation and confrontation just yet.

"Thanks Mathias." He was genuinely thankful for the Dane, talking to someone had made him feel better.

"No problem, anything for my future brother-in-law", he grinned. Emil rolled his eyes.

"As if Lukas would ever say yes to you", the teen shot back. Mathias' grin grew wider.

"He has been saying yes for the last four years. So why not say yes to a few more?" With that, they deemed the discussion over, Emil rolling his eyes once more. They drank their remaining coffee in silence, waiting for the last member of the household to return. The Icelandic would never say this out loud, but he cherished moments like this. A lot more than anyone could guess.

* * *

 **1\. I know Emil is Icelandic, but he doesn't speak it, because his family moved to Iceland before he was born, and moved to the town they live in now after his second birthday. Since his parents are Norwegian, he speaks that language fluently, just like his brother. However, Emil chooses not to use it, since no one will understand it, apart from Lukas and Mathias.**

* * *

Hey there everyone, and thank you so much for reading and staying patient with me. To be honest, I wanted this to be ready earlier this week, but I had not motivation and it was really annoying to start this chapter, I think I re-wrote the beginning three times. But now it's finally done!

I also wrote down the details to the stories in a notebook and I drew the house the Bondeviks and Mathias live in, so if you guys want to see that, I might post it on my Tumblr. My user is the same as on my ff, Hanatamago2204. Also, because I wrote down the family ties and such to the story, I now have so many ideas for side stories... But I don't know if I should write them. I have one for Matthew, one for Lovino, Antonio, Feliciano and Ludwig, I have one for Gilbert and Roderich and... I made up so many background details, that I almost forgot the story was about Emil and Leon. If any of you are interested in a side story, don't hesitate to let me know!

Once again, I really want to thank all you lovely people for reviewing and following and adding favourites and just... You are the best, really! This story has been online for just over a month (one month and one day as of the 6th) and I have already had nearly 2000 hits! I can't believe it. This is too much. I'm not that great, so how come you people are following this all the time? Also, my chapters are really long (and I talk too much in these notes, oops), doesn't that bother you at all? Anyway... Thanks a thousand times for staying with me and being patient.

~Hana


	9. Chapter 9

Strong, yet gentle arms wrapped around him while he was dosing in the morning light. This was why he'd run to Ivan's home from time to time. It was quiet and tranquil in the little apartment, unlike his own house, where there was always someone complaining about being hungry, a television on a noisy channel with teens that were drinking and half naked or someone was on the phone with their friends. Basically, Yao fled his home because his siblings wouldn't be here. They wouldn't bother him about lunch or school, he could just waste the day away with his boyfriend of 8 years, Ivan. The Asian let out a sigh, he felt happy and content, lying here in the big, soft bed.

"Morning Yao", the Russian mumbled, stroking away a strand of the black hair that framed his lover's face. A gentle kiss to wake him up, then a hug to show how much he loved the Asian man.

"Mhh, morning aru, did you sleep well?" As a response, the Russian nuzzled the slim back of the other person in his bed, taking in the scent of herbs and spices. They didn't have any plans for the day apart from lying in bed, only getting out to make food and eat said food, sleeping, kissing, maybe a little more than just kissing, sleeping… Since Yao still lived with his brothers ever since their parents passed away ten years ago in a horrible car accident, the responsible eldest of the Wang family didn't allow the Russian to move in with them. The small male didn't want to inconvenience his brothers by bringing in another mouth to feed, even if Ivan would earn his own money and he could help with the chores. Still, Yao wouldn't allow it. The fact that his job was irregular, he worked as a bouncer at Daan's club in the weekends, didn't make his chance of moving in with the lovely Asian any better. Ivan was fine with it, though, he could still see Yao every weekend and they'd just laze around or go on dates, but sometimes he wished he could take their relationship to the next step, just like Tiino and Berwald and recently, Ludwig and Feliciano.

The last-mentioned couple was 2 and 3 years younger and had only been with each other for about a year, so Ivan was kind of jealous of them. He had been thinking about proposing to his darling since their third year of their relationship and he had already thought of what kind of ring he would buy for Yao, where he would ask the man and how. Everything was ready, except for Yao. Not that the Asian hated him, but he just wasn't ready for it, judging by his resolute opinion about living together now. Nonetheless, Ivan was quite grateful for the time they could spend together, it was treasured by both of them and not complicated at all. They rarely fought over something, but of course they weren't a perfect couple and they too had their moments where they had different opinions. Right now, though, they both wanted to enjoy the day together.

Sadly, someone had other plans. The silence in the room was harshly killed by the obnoxious sound of Yao's cell phone screaming for attention. With a string of cuss words, the Asian got up. It had been a few weeks since the two had been able to just spend the day together, Yao's job had been keeping him off the streets, so he felt really annoyed when their precious time got interrupted. He unlocked the phone where the name of his younger brother Hyong flashed him a good morning and brought the device to his ear.

"This better be important, aru", he greeted not bothering to actually take the time to wish the younger Asian a good morning.

"Sorry for interrupting you right now, but I think something is wrong with Leon. He hasn't been his usual self and he seems sick. Perhaps it would be better if you would come home…" Upon hearing the worrying news, Yao changed his attitude to a worried one, relaxing his muscles.

"No, it's okay, aru. Did you check his temperature? Is he coughing? Did you give him the herbal tea yet?", Yao asked, showering the fourteen-year-old with questions, all to be denied.

"No, you see, he doesn't respond to anyone. We asked him if he knew where you were, but he didn't answer. He then proceeded to walk into the kitchen and he poured tea into his cereal. And instead of putting the cereal in the drawer, he put it in the fridge. Yong Soo thought it was very funny and he just laughed at Leon, but when Leon didn't hit him, we got kind of worried. It hasn't improved at all, he asked where the shampoo was while he was holding an empty tube of toothpaste. Can you please hurry home before he tries to do something dangerous?" His little brother sounded concerned and also annoyed, which Yao could understand. This kind of behaviour was nothing normal, not even for his idiotic brother Leon. With a sigh, the twenty-six-year-old decided he would have to go home and see for himself what the middle brother had gotten himself into.

"I'll be there in thirty minutes, aru. Try to get an answer from Leon about what is going on and don't let him out of your sight. We don't want him to hurt himself or others."

After saying goodbye to his younger brother, he ended the call and sighed again, massaging his temples. Ivan was sitting on the bed now and looked at his boyfriend with a curious look on his face, wondering what the call had been about.

"Everything alright at home?", he asked when the other didn't speak. The Russian was met by the shake of Yao's head, making the black waterfalls around his head dance.

"No, it seems like Leon is not feeling very well and behaving strangely. I'm very sorry, but I think I'll have to go check on him… I really wish I wouldn't have to, but… I'm just worried." An air of sadness surrounded the Asian.

"It's okay, we'll go out some other time, da?", Ivan responded, a smile on his face. "I would also be worried if Natalya were to get sick suddenly. Don't sweat it. Maybe we could eat dinner together tonight?" A shimmer of hope was in the blue, almost violet eyes of the Russian.

"We'll see, aru. Really depends on how Leon is feeling by then… I'll let you know, okay?" The taller male noticed that his boyfriend seemed quite worried and he dropped the subject, getting up from the bed.

"Let's get you ready then." With that, they both started on their own morning routine, taking a shower and preparing breakfast.

* * *

In the Wang household, the twins were still trying to figure out what was wrong with their older brother. The teen had not set anything on fire _yet_ , but he also didn't really hear them when they asked him questions either and he just seemed to be somewhere else than in this world. For the time being, they had just put him in the living room with the TV on, while the two youngest were sitting at the dining table from their childhood, that looked out on the living room on one side and to the kitchen on another. The table was surrounded by eight chairs, something they still kept, even though their parents hadn't been with them for ten years. It was handy at times and they wanted to keep the table and chairs, they held many fond memories.

Through the kitchen window, Yong Soo noticed Yao's car driving by, only to pull up the drive way. They heard a door slam shut and another open a few moments later. As soon as he entered the living room, he looked for Leon, finding him in the same place his brothers left him thirty minutes ago.

"He has been sitting there like this ever since we called you. He doesn't say anything, he doesn't move, he just sits there. And he doesn't seem to notice us that much. He only responds to questions when you address them to him, otherwise he just doesn't. Right Leon?" At the sound of his name, the teen snapped out of his day dream and looked around. When he spotted Yao, he gave him a confused look.

"I thought you were with Ivan?", he asked, crooking his head.

"Oh, so now you respond", Yong Soo called annoyed, frowning angrily at his older brother.

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb Leon. We've been trying to call you all day and get you out of your daydreams, but you find it funny to not listen and just sit there." Before the argument could turn to worse, Yao interfered.

"Aiyah, stop it you two. This is ridiculous. Leon, are you okay?" His little brother just looked at all of them as if they were crazy.

"Why shouldn't I be? Just because I, like, am thinking a lot today, doesn't mean that I am insane!" So he had noticed that he wasn't with all of them. He had made a point, though, the other three had to admit that. "You know what, I'm going to play video games…" With that, the 17-year-old left the room and walked into the second part of the house, that was only meant for their bedrooms. Upstairs, he turned left and opened the door, stepping onto his carpet. A loud sigh escaped him while he let himself fall onto one of his beanbags that were sitting in front of his gaming station and he turned on the console. No one was going to disturb him here.

For the rest of the Saturday, there wasn't much ruckus in the Wang household. Yao had decided he could catch up onto some paperwork that he had been putting off this week because of Leon's birthday, so he sat down in his office and worked, after texting Ivan that Leon was alright and that he would enjoy eating out with the Russian tonight. They agreed on leaving at seven. Where Ivan would take them, was a surprise. The twins both went to their rooms, Hyong to do his homework, Yong Soo to stalk people on the internet. As long as they were quiet, Yao didn't mind that much. And they had to be careful and not talk to strangers, he said. That remark was always met with an eye-roll from Yong Soo and a curt nod from Hyong.

Time flew by and before long, Yao had to leave for dinner with Ivan. Leon had still not left his room; he was too busy playing his video games. He had started the game anew after not being able to get through a passage because he had missed an important quest and he could not find it anymore. Restarting also meant he had to design another character. He pressed the buttons, changing the hair colour, eyes, skin tone, height… Leon himself didn't notice, but if someone else had looked at the character, they would say that it looked a lot like Emil…

Saturday turned into Sunday, which turned into Monday. Throughout the weekend, the Asian teen had successfully distracted himself from thoughts about his friend and the party, but on Monday he had to confront the Icelandic again, as there wasn't any open seat except for the one next to Emil. Neither of them spoke, both just listened to their music and looked out the windows, watching the roads and houses roll by. At some point, the bus had to make a sharp turn and Leon was forced against his neighbour, catching a whiff of the other's scent. The Icelandic smelled like honey again, this time paired with the smell of liquorice. The lovely smell made it hard to breathe for the Asian and Leon felt his face heat up. The honey and liquorice took him back to Friday night, when he had kissed Emil… No, don't think about that now!

The bus stopped soon after that, opening its doors for the students. The first to run out of the mechanical vehicle was Leon, who was soon met by his friends that had been sitting in the back of the bus. They asked him about his weekend and joked about the party. Soon they changed to teasing Alfred, who was holding hands with Lily, both bright red of embarrassment.

"Are you two a thing now?", Leon asked, smiling fondly at the couple. The two nodded, squeezing their hands. They looked cute together. Not as cute as Emil, but still… The Asian didn't really realise what he was thinking, until he was in the classroom and met the Icelandic's cold stare later that day. The two friends had been avoiding each other all day. Or more, Leon had been avoiding Emil. The dark haired boy didn't really know why, it just seemed like a good idea to him to leave his friend alone for a little while. He also didn't feel like talking about what had happened on Friday and Thursday.

During their Maths class, it was very difficult for the young teen to focus on the tasks that the ever strict Mr. Beilschmidt gave them. His mind just kept wandering off, sometimes together with his gaze, only to start lingering on Emil. Luckily, the blond teen seemed very focussed on the impossible equations, so he didn't notice Leon's stare. The way his tongue was poking out from his gentle, pink lips was too endearing to the Asian and he remembered how soft they felt on his own lips. Would the other let him kiss him again? In the sparse moments that he hadn't been playing video games, he had been pondering on the feeling the Icelandic started inside of him some more. After a while, Leon had come to the conclusion that he was indeed in love with his best friend, which sounded way to cliché in his head. He couldn't change the fact that he felt something for Emil though, so he just tried to accept the feelings. Which was easier said than done, since he didn't know what the other thought or felt. Yes, they had kissed and the kiss had felt wonderful. But did the other feel the same way?

The thoughts kept bugging the auburn haired teen the whole day, making him completely miss out on the lessons and their content. After the bell rang, he had only one goal; get home and put on his pyjamas. He felt tired and he wished the thoughts of a certain berry-eyed person would finally stop, but nothing would stop them. At home, his absentmindedness continued, annoying Yao to death. The eldest of the four brothers had just come home after working a long shift and he really could use some help in the kitchen. Leon, however, was too busy fantasising about Emil's delicious lips and wonderful pale skin to hear his brother ask him for help. Not even when the question was asked for the fifth time, causing the long-haired Asian to stomp out of the kitchen and dragging the younger back into the room, where tonight's dinner was being prepared.

"Leon Li Xiao Wang!", he then shouted, glaring at the younger one. "I have been calling you multiple times now to help me with dinner, but it seems it would be just as fruitful to talk to the chair, since neither of you would respond to me. Now, get your head out of the clouds and set the table." Without waiting for a response, he turned back to the stove, grabbing his ladle and stirring in his wok.

"Why do _I_ always have to help you with your cooking? Why don't you ask Hyong or Yong Soo? They're also old enough to help out", Leon complained. However, his words were ignored by his brother.

"Today's youth, I swear, they will bring this country to ruins with their bad behaviour and big mouths", Yao mumbled under his breath, sounding a lot like an old man. He had been right when he said that he could have asked the chair to help him, because Leon was already spacing out again, looking out the window without seeing anything. The teen should be glad that no one could read his thoughts, because they were anything but appropriate for anyone near him.

A glance to the side told Yao that his brother had turned into a zombie again and he sighed. Why was it, that all the Wang family members turned into almost inanimate object when they were in love. He remembered how he behaved when he first realised he had fallen in love with Ivan. For almost two weeks his brothers had to shake him, call his name multiple times and help him cook because he would burn everything otherwise, before he could function normally again. The 26-year-old wondered who had stolen his little brother's heart, while he put down the ladle. While doing that, a little plan was born inside his mind and he grinned, sneaking up to his brother.

"Oh~ Leon…", he moaned, startling the called male in front of him.

"What the fuck, Yao!", the younger yelled after turning around, anger plastered all over his face. The head of the household however wasn't happy to hear those words. There was one rule in the house; No swearing. If you did, you'd better be prepared for trouble. Leon noticed that he had just broken the rule and he gasped, a pleading look appearing in his eyes. "No, no, no, no, don't get angry, I'm sorry, I didn't…-"

His rambling was stopped by the death glare that had settled on Yao's pretty face. This could only mean that he was in big trouble.

"Leon Li Xiao… You know the rules in this house. Normally I would let this one slide because it was also partially my fault. However, I think you could use a little time out, judging by how you behave these days. I don't know what happened on Friday, I don't want to know either. But perhaps you could use your time out to think about the other people in this household and what you are supposed to do in here. So I'm going to take away your Nintendo-"

"It's an Xbox!"

"I don't care, I'm still going to take it away, so you will think about your position here. Perhaps that will help you. And if you are still wondering why your brothers are not helping in the kitchen; I sent them off because they have been keeping an eye on you the whole weekend while I was working, so I thought they could use a break. Now watch the food while I go get your Eggs Box or whatever that thing is called." With that, Yao left his little brother in the kitchen.

That turned out to be a mistake, before the long haired male had disconnected the gaming console, he smelled the food burning. Running back to the kitchen, he was met by Leon, who was spacing out for the x-th time this day. He would get all of them killed at this rate, Yao thought while he grabbed the wok, nudging his little brother with his shoulder.

"Aiyah, look at what you have done to my precious food, aru!" The words seemed to bring the younger back to life, who looked around himself in confusion, before staring into the wok. Instead of delicious food, he saw black lumps that reminded him of a certain Briton's cooking…

"Maybe I should just go to my room…", Leon mumbled, turning around to walk out of the room.

"Yes, do that. And bring that Nintendo Box downstairs while you're at it!", Yao shouted after him while he tried to save the food that was still edible.

The rest of the week went by rather quickly. Leon and Emil still didn't talk to each other and Leon couldn't spend extra time at school, since he was now grounded. Yao had not spoken about the duration of the punishment, but until further notice the younger Asian was expected to come straight home. Not that he could do a lot of things at home or anything, his gaming console and laptop had been taken away by his older brother. The only thing that he had left the teen, was his phone. By Friday, his friends had all run out of things to talk about and they had decided to go out today as well, so Leon would have no one to talk to. The first two hours were fairly easy to get through, he had to some homework left to finish and he started studying. After that was done, however, things were getting really boring.

He had checked his Facebook 5 times already within 15 minutes, scrolled through his Tumblr dashboard, liked the new Instagram posts that were there and sent 3 Snapchats to each of his contacts. Now there was nothing left to do. While hanging down from his bed, head lying on the floor and legs on the bed, he stared at the ceiling, thinking about what to do. The thought of texting Emil appeared in his head, but he banned it soon, not wanting to face his crush just jet. Since he had realised on Monday that he had fallen in love with the awkward teen, he had been feeling nervous about talking to him, texting him or even looking at him. Those feelings resulted in Leon avoiding the older teen even more, now refusing even acknowledge his friend, much to aforementioned friend's dismay. Sighing, he tried to get back on the floor, which resulted in him lying in an awkward, folded pose.

Soon, however, he had to move out of that pose, because his phone let him know that a new message had come in. Leon got up and crawled over to the device, unlocking it. The message was sent by _Puffin hugger_ , Emil's contact name in the Asian's phone. It referred to Emil's stuffed Puffin that he used to bring with him to every occasion you could think of.

 **From: Puffin hugger**

 **So I noticed you were bored. What happened to your xbox?**

Leon smiled, his friend knew him too well. If he started sending more than one Snapchat, something was wrong, because he always had something to do. Perhaps talking to Emil wasn't such a bad idea…

 **From: Jakie Wang**

 **I got grounded on Monday for cursing and being a whiny idiot… Yao's a pain in the ass. Especially after he visited Ivan ;)**

On the other side of the street, a teenage boy was sitting in his room with a now bright red face.

 **From: Puffin hugger**

 **Wow, tmi. Want me to come over? I still have your present…**

Emil hoped that his friend would decline. Right now, he wasn't feeling strong enough to see him yet, still feeling flustered about even texting the Asian teen. It had taken him more than an hour to muster his courage to type in the message to Leon, so it would take even longer to be able to move to the Wang household.

 **From: Jackie Wang**

 **Sure, but don't get caught by my 'mom'**

 **From: Puffin hugger**

 **Don't worry, I'll make up an excuse. See ya in 5**

Damn it, why did Leon agree to this? They had been ignoring each other the whole week, why did he want to see him right now? Couldn't he hang out with Emma or something? Dreading the meeting, Emil got up and walked over to his desk, fishing the present out of the drawer. Since it was only four p.m., neither of the adults was home to ask him where he was going. The visit wouldn't take that long, so the Icelandic teen didn't bother with leaving a note for his brother or for Mathias. By the time they would be home, so would he.

To Emil's surprise, Leon opened the door instead of Yao.

"Quick, my brothers are all out right now, so you can sneak in. Go on ahead, I'm going to grab some snacks real quick. The usual for you?" The question was a rhetorical question, because Leon walked into the kitchen without even waiting for the other's response. The Icelandic shrugged and made his way into the second part of the house, then up the stairs. It was strange to be in the house without anyone cooking or running around, he found. Usually, silence was not something this household knew. Apart from last week, when everyone had been at the wedding.

His thoughts drifted off to his own wedding –not that he was having one anytime soon, but he still enjoyed thinking about that. No, that is not girly.- and a slight smile played around his lips.

"You look pretty when you smile, you know that", Leon blurted out as he walked into the room, a bag of liquorice in his hand and a coffee mug in his other. The words made Emil fluster.

"Uh, thanks, I guess?" A by now familiar, awkward silence settled over the two as they looked at each other, studying the face in front of them. Neither of the two teens knew what to say, usually they would play video games or browse the internet, but seeing that the console and the laptop were taken away, that was kind of impossible.

"So, Alfred and Lily are a pair, huh?", Leon started, scratching his head. Again he had started about love. Just like last time when Emil was over. "I think they're cute together, what about you?"

The Icelandic answered with a shrug. He didn't really care about those two, since they weren't his friends. He thought Alfred was too obnoxious and he didn't want to offend Lily's brother, who ran the butcher's shop in town. Lukas had taken him there once and he had seen the knives… No, thank you kindly.

"I suppose." Another silence. A chance to let their thoughts wander again. Should he start about the kiss Leon had given him last time? Talk about the party? But that would also lead to talking about kissing… It was better than nothing though, Emil concluded.

"Did I miss a lot after Mathias took me home", he asked, taking a sip of coffee. Leon seemed to need some time to before he realised Emil had asked him something.

"Err, no, I don't think so. Emma and the others went out for a drink in a nearby café, but I didn't go. We didn't play the game anymore after that, so I guess things were really boring. To be honest, I was kind of spacing out after you left…" A light hint of pink crept over the Asian's face while he spoke. It looked cute.

"Oh, right, I still have to give you your present", Emil suddenly said, reaching for the package that was resting on the desk. "Er, happy late birthday, I suppose? I picked it out when I went shopping with Peter and I don't know, it kind of reminded me of you…" Blushing, the Icelandic broke of his sentence as he handed the wrapped gift to his friend, eyes avoiding the Asian's.

"Thanks." The receiver opened the present slowly, carefully tearing away the tape that was holding the paper in its place. Inside was a little box. Curious, he opened it and his eyes stroked over a cute little panda on a string that was supposed to be attached onto a phone. It was no wonder the charm had reminded Emil of him, the panda looked just like the stuffed toy Leon's mother had given to her child when he was still young. "It's cute", the brunet said, looking at his friend.

"It's not too girly or something? I still have the receipt, we could…-"

"No, I like it. Thanks Emil", he cut his friend off, hugging him. The Icelandic was taken by surprise by the gesture and it took him a moment before he returned the hug.

"Okay…" They held onto each other for a while, both thinking about how nice it felt to hold the other close. Emil smelled of honey, mint and liquorice today. Leon smelled like the night a week ago, minus the alcohol. The Icelandic was also able to place the sweetness today, it was indeed ginger. Neither of them really wanted to let go, they enjoyed it too much. But they both had to admit that this was quite the strange situation for the other, probably, so they released each other. The younger teen was still smiling and he looked into the dark blue eyes, immediately feeling that all too familiar tug again. He didn't care anymore; he didn't want to resist anymore. The feeling had only increased since he had admitted his feelings for the Icelandic to himself and he had been thinking about kissing his long-time friend the whole week.

Opposite of Leon, Emil was having similar thoughts and feelings. They gave in to their cravings and as through magic, they moved towards each other, until their noses touched. Now the blond teen smiled as well, giving his friend an Eskimo kiss by rubbing his nose against Leon's. They stared into each other's eyes a little longer, once again forgetting everything around them. The only thing that mattered, was the other. Almost naturally, their lips touched, setting of that welcome, warm feeling in their chests, that soon spread around their whole bodies. It started of slowly, only their hands and knees touching, since they were still sitting on the floor. Soon though, drunk on the taste of his friend's lips, Emil pushed forward a bit, increasing the speed at which they moved their lips together. His right hand moved to Leon's shoulder and he felt the Asian's hands tangle in his own blond hair. The sensation he felt, was indescribable. It made him crave more and he was determined on getting what he wanted today. Emil increased the pressure on his friend's shoulder, which caused the Asian to loose balance and the two tumbled to the floor, their lips still sealed together. Leon opened his eyes, almost violet eyes meeting his. They broke apart their kiss and gasped for air, blushing hard.

"I think we need to talk about this…", Leon mumbled after a few minutes. Emil nodded, licking his lips. He could still taste Leon on them and he really wanted more. He moved away from the teen, allowing him to sit up again.

"So… Do you enjoy the kisses?" The Icelandic teen surprised himself with the question. He had been wondering about that question since Thursday. He himself for sure did enjoy them, they left him feeling really fuzzy inside, making him a mess and unable to think of anything but the other's soft lips. But the question now was, whether his friend also felt something like that.

"Do you?" Suddenly, Leon felt too shy to answer the question. A lump was forming in his throat, he seemed to have lost his ability to think clearly. To his surprise, Emil nodded. He nodded! How he wanted to hug that shy Icelandic in front of him right now. But he didn't. Emil had nodded! That meant that they both enjoyed the kisses! "Me too", the auburn haired whispered, rubbing his hands together. His palms were all sweaty now, showing how nervous he was. "Now what?", he then asked, looking up to his friend.

"Don't know…" Silence wrapped around them again while they both were too nervous to make a decision. They had admitted that they enjoyed the kisses, but neither of them had thought about what to do next. Should they confess, go out together? Luckily, the decision was soon made for them, when Emil's phone started ringing. Lukas' caller ID showed up and the Icelandic groaned. "Sorry… Hello, Lukas?"

"Emil, where are you? I couldn't find you when I got home and your classes finished three hours ago. Are you with friends?", his brother asked on the other side of the phone.

"Yeah, I am. I'm with Leon right now. Is that bad?"

"No, but I started dinner since it's already late. So it would be handy if you could come home now."

"Okay, I'll be right there." With a sigh, Emil ended the call, looking at his friend. Great timing... Actually, it was, since neither of the teens knew what to do right now. "Lukas wants me to come home…", he explained to the teen who was still sitting on the floor. A look of disappointment appeared on Leon's face, his smile disappearing.

"Oh, that's alright." His voice gave away that it wasn't, but they both knew it couldn't be changed. They should be glad that neither Yao nor the twins had found the two by now. The two bad boys had heard the other family members of the Wang household return soon after Leon had come back with the now-cold coffee. For the second time that day, Emil was going to surprise himself with his words.

"Shall we go out together when you're free to go again", he asked the teen on the floor. The disappointment had to make room for the shock that now spread in the dark eyes opposite from the blond.

"Go out? As in…" A ferocious blush settled on Leon's puffy cheeks while he looked at his Icelandic friend. "As in, a date?", he then added shyly, casting his gaze. Now it was Emil's turn to feel all flustered and blush madly.

"Yeah, a date. We could go to Francis' café again, if you'd like?" The heat on his face was increasing, seemingly thousands of bonfires were burning underneath the pale skin.

"Sounds… great! I'll- I'll let you know when Yao releases me from my prison." Leon stretched out his arm towards Emil, hinting for the other to pull him up. With an eye-roll, the blond tugged on the arm. "Let's get your coat and such now", the Asian said when he was standing on his feet. Emil's hand was still resting on the brunet's arm. While they walked down the stairs, they subconsciously let their fingers entwine, sending pleasant shocks down their spines. They couldn't wait until Yao would free his prisoner. But first, Emil had to escape from said policeman.

* * *

Hey there, trustworthy readers!

Wow, this is once again a long chapter. I kind of feel like we are closing in on the end, I don't have the whole story planned yet. But aren't those two too adorable? I don't want to let them go, they grow up so fast... But seriously, I don't want to end things here... Like I said in my last A/N, I have a few side stories and background stories that I could write about, but I don't know if anyone would be interested in them. If you have any requests regarding a certain character, then please leave it in the reviews or PM me, I would love to hear about it.

That being said, I drew another house again. Or more, sketched, it's not that well drawn. Anyway, I'll be finishing that on Saturday and I will also post it to my tumblr, you'll find the link for it on my profile.

Thank you all for sticking with me, we almost have 30 followers, woohoo! Until next week!

~Hana


	10. Chapter 10

Behold, for I have written another chapter!

* * *

Time went by faster than they had expected. Friday had turned into Monday in the blink of an eye. Then, Monday had turned into Friday again, with Leon still trapped in his room, as he was still grounded and without a laptop. Meanwhile, Emil and him had been texting more, stealing glances in class and smiling, winking or blushing when the other realised he was being watched. But because Yao had still give them the green light by giving his little brother his freedom back, they couldn't meet up or hang out at each other's house. Emil was starting to get worried that maybe, Leon had lied to him and he didn't enjoy kissing Emil or being with him. But seeing that the Asian still ran towards the bus stop every day after class, he assumed that his brother still kept him captive in their pretty house. The latter was only half true though.

To be frank, Yao had simply forgotten that he had grounded the younger one of the Wang household. His own schedule was packed with meetings and other boring things that demanded his attention, so it had slipped his mind that he had hidden Leon's laptop and Xbox. It was not until he looked in his drawer with a lock on it, where he kept all his things that weren't meant for someone else's eyes and things he didn't want his brothers to touch, that he remembered this, as he found the laptop and the confiscated Xbox waiting there. A little blush crept up his face as he felt embarrassed to have forgotten about his brother, but he soon settled back to his own self, becoming a little grumpy again. The punishment had been grave, but it also had probably worked. At least, that was what the 26-year-old hoped when he took the two devices out of their hiding spot and walked up the stairs, to return them to their home.

After a gentle knock on the door and a huff that welcomed him inside, Yao opened the wooden barricade that shielded him from his brother. The younger Asian was lying on his bed, or at least half of his body was, the upper half was draped on the blue carpet like it had been a week ago, phone in his hands and a little smile on his face, pink touching the cheeks.

"Aiyaah, are you texting a girl? You are blushing like a high school girl with a crush", he teased the one on the floor. Yao noticed the pink only increased at the mention of a possible crush, the phone was tucked away as soon as he finished typing the message to whoever he was texting. "Look what I found, I think these two have been longing to be returned, aru", he then said to his little brother, who still looked at him from the floor, not showing any intentions of moving away from where he was.

"Oh, sweet! Now I can check my tumblr again!" Leon exclaimed at the sight of his precious babies while he jumped to his feet, making Yao wonder how the teen was so flexible. "Also, can I, like, stay out after school again?" The question was meant to be nonchalant, but the pink that returned to the cheeks gave Leon away.

"Sure, if you have anything to do, go ahead. But let me know if you bring a friend over or eat out, since I have to know for how many people I have to cook", Yao responded, his face serious again. Leon rolled his eyes, that was ridiculous.

"You always cook way too much anyway; it's not going to hurt anyone if I bring someone over", he shot back, while he started to connect the Xbox to the television again, eager to play again. Perhaps Emil and him could Skype tonight and tease people on Omegle together tonight, he thought while he attached the device to its lifeline.

"Speaking about cooking, I should start on dinner", Yao said, turning towards the door. He pretended he didn't hear the: "At three in the afternoon?" that came from Leon and smiled. Tonight, Ivan would be working again at _De gillende Keukenmeid_ and the Asian had decided he would spend the night in the little apartment again, to relax and get a little taste of the Russian again. It had been too long since he had, two weeks to be precise. "Oh, and Leon", he then added, stopping in the hallway and looking back into the room. "I'll be spending the night at Ivan's place tonight." The smirk on his face made Leon feel a little sick, but also turned his cheeks pink. He knew exactly what the two adults did whenever Yao stayed the night and the older Wang member enjoyed it a little too much to tease the younger one with that. But now, it reminded Leon of someone he would like to be with right now.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know", he said, his voice annoyed and a little grossed out. "I think I'll go out with Emil tonight, eat at McDonald's or something. Has been a while." Inside his mind, he hoped dearly that his voice didn't give his excitement as he spoke of the Icelandic. Yao just nodded in agreement, walking down the stairs and proceeding to begin cooking for the twins.

* * *

Since Leon had promised to tell Emil as soon as Yao gave him freedom again, the teen grabbed his phone immediately after the adult had left his precious den. Pressing the ID that hid Emil's number and thus starting a call, he slumped down on his brown bean bag. The phone rang a couple of times before the Icelandic answered, his voice cracking as he greeted his friend on the other side of the line.

"Hey Leon. Are you bored again?", he said, feigning annoyance.

"No, not this time. I have good news today, Yao finally gave me back my laptop, Xbox and thus my freedom. So, we can, like, go out and bring trouble to the town or something", the Asian said, excitement leading his voice into a higher pitch than what was normal for him. In another room, another house, Emil tried to keep himself from jumping around or showing his joy in any other way.

"That's cool", was his only response while a huge smile appeared on his face. Now they could hang out together.

"I know right? So, as a celebration, I was thinking we could head to the Golden Arches to stuff our faces with bad food for once." The person on the other side of the line chuckled.

"Sure, I'll ask my 'mom' and 'dad' and I'll be with you in a few minutes, that cool?", the Icelandic said, barely able to keep himself from running out of his room and heading out immediately. He really had been longing to be able to be with Leon somewhere that wasn't school, away from Vlad's knowing stares and Emma's annoying questions. Of course, it hadn't gone unnoticed that Emil and Leon were outright staring at each other during classes. No, the Dutch was way to attentive for that.

The two teens talked for a little longer, before they ended the call, both getting ready to go out. Leon looked down at what he was wearing, and old jumper that he had refused to throw away when Yao had pointed out that the colour had faded and that it was starting to become too small for him, and his favourite track pants, that he, ironically, didn't use for working out or anything like that. He concluded that this wasn't fit for a date. Because that was what this was going to be, right? Leon had a date with Emil. But on the other hand, neither of them had called it that, and McDonald's wasn't, he had to admit that, a nice place to take someone to as a date. For a minute, he wondered if he should take the Icelandic somewhere a little more appropriate for a date, but decided against it. They had been friends since forever and never went somewhere fancy. The Asian thought that it would make Emil feel uncomfortable if that were to suddenly change.

Leon got up, making his way to his wardrobe, only to turn the neatly arranged clothes into a messy pile on the floor in the progress of trying to find an outfit that wasn't too fancy, but a bit more… -sexy? Cute? Pretty? -than his usual clothes. Sadly, that was easier said than done. By the time Emil arrived, announcing it by ringing the doorbell and later knocking on his bedroom door, Leon was still standing in front of his wardrobe, that was now almost empty, only waring his boxers, which lead to a bit of awkwardness.

"Err…", the teen in boxers started. This was not how he had imagined their date to start off.

"Really Leon, ducks?", Emil asked suddenly, hiding his ever growing grin behind his pale hand. His friend started to blush like mad at the comment on his particularly embarrassing underwear.

"Ugh, shut up. I wanted to dress up, like, really nicely, but I don't know what to wear and…" He stopped talking, realising what he had just said, blush creeping towards his neck.

"Let's see what I can do", the Icelandic said, cracking his knuckles while he walked towards the pile of clothes. Leon dreaded this a little, seeing the blond didn't really share his clothing style. To his surprise though, his friend pulled out a dark blue jumper, a white dress shirt and a pair of black trousers. That would be alright.

After finishing putting on the clothes, styling his hair and spraying a little cologne to his neck, Dolce and Gabana The One, to be precise, Leon could finally admire the teen beside him. Emil had decided to go for dark jeans with a crimson cardigan that was layered on top of a white shirt. It suited him.

"You look nice", Leon blurted out before he even noticed, leaving the other to blush a pretty shade of pink.

"Thank you", the pink faced teen murmured, walking out of the house. Leon shouted a goodbye into the living room, before following his friend into the chilly air. Perhaps he should have grabbed a coat. Too late for that now though.

Somehow along the way to the fast food restaurant, their hands had found each other, intertwining gently. Neither of them said anything about it, it just appeared natural to them while they talked and teased. Too soon, they arrived at the building that smelled of deep fried goods. After placing and retrieving their order, they fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the people around them and their lively conversations. After their fries and hamburgers had disappeared into their mouths, they sat there, looking at each other. There was no reason to stay, but neither of them wanted to leave. Leaving meant they would have to go back home again. Home meant that the other wouldn't be there.

"Shall we go for a stroll", Emil proposed with an insecure smile. Leon nodded, eager to take the chance to spend a little more time with the person he was in love with.

If there was something the Asian teen knew for sure, it was that he was in love with Emil. But that was pretty much the only thing he knew about this whole situation. Usually, it would be easy for him to flirt, to give the other compliments and make them feel at easy. But usually, he would not be nervous around the person he was trying to woo. He would be calm and composed and not a mumbling, blushing mess as he was around Emil these days. For obvious reasons, he turned into a shy teen whenever he was with the Icelandic. Aforementioned Icelandic didn't seem to mind that, though. He had just asked him to go for a walk, so he probably enjoyed Leon's company. At that thought, the Asian felt like slapping himself. Of course Emil enjoyed his company, since they were on a date now and they had kissed three times already.

A stretched out hand interrupted his thoughts and with a genuine smile, he took it, strolling out of the building with the owner of the hand. Emil shot his companion a glance, noticing the pretty smile that had started to form around his lips. It was nice to be out with Leon again, talk about all kinds of things, gossiping from time to time.

The air was nice and chilly, which gave the two an excuse to walk a little closer next to each other, letting their shoulders and arms brush together occasionally. At some point, their conversation landed on the topic of school and the Christmas ball the school would be hosting in the week after the students finished their week full of tests and projects. It would be on the day their Christmas holiday would start and usually it was the talk of the school throughout all of December. Of course, the two could not leave out on this.

"So, have you been thinking about taking anyone to the ball yet", Emil asked, feeling a little stupid for asking in the first place.

"To be honest, no. I am more worried about all those tests. Like, I haven't been paying attention a lot in class lately, so…" His friend nodded, he had noticed that Leon had been distracted during the lessons. Part of that was his fault, the Icelandic knew.

"Should I help you studying", he asked the Asian, the offer was meant as an apology.

"Nah, I'm good. Don't worry about it. If necessary, I'll ask Yao or Ivan. Apparently Ivan is really smart." They continued to walk on in silence, their hands still locked together, sometimes squeezing the other.

After a while, they came across the park, empty because of the late hour. The sun had set a long time ago, leaving the city in darkness, that was only broken by the occasional lantern that stood tall in the streets. However, those sources of light were placed only scarcely inside the green grass behind the dark iron gates that ought to keep dogs and children from running onto the streets that were normally filled with cars. Now that night had fallen onto the city, the streets and the park were rather empty, perfect for a shy pair of teens that didn't really know how to deal with their puppy love. Without words, Leon asked his friend whether he wanted to walk in the park. Emil agreed just as silently as the other, tugging the two of them into the darkness beyond the gates.

Their footsteps crunched over the sandy paths, filling their ears rhythmically with silence and then the sound of their feet. It was like a mantra and numbed their minds, making the two focus on the warmth the other radiated off onto their own body. Really, there wasn't much to say anymore. They had talked to each other all week, through text messages and at school. Right now, they just savoured the moment together, feeling flutters in their stomach and chest whenever they looked over to the other, smiling if their eyes met.

After a while, Leon decided that it had been too long since he had teased Emil. It was his duty to tease his friend at least once a day, if possible, more than that. Whether it was verbally, like mentioning something stupid he had done or giving a smart comment, or physically, like tickling, stealing something or really anything that wasn't done by speaking, the Asian regarded it as his personal task to annoy the Icelandic until said teen would get angry and hit the other, gently. Depending on how bad the teasing was, the hit became less gentle. Noticing a pile of leafs the city workers had raked together that afternoon, a sneaky plan started to form in Leon's head.

He let go of Emil's hand and walked over to the leafs, a smug smile on his face.

"Hey, check this out", he said, motioning for Emil to follow him. The blond rolled his eyes and strolled towards his companion, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He was starting to feel a little chilly.

"What kind of stupid thing do you have to show me now, in the dark?", he muttered, stopping on the left side of his friend.

"Something really cool!", the Asian chimed as he stood back up, hands full of leafs. But because of the darkness that Emil had already pointed out, it was hard to see what exactly he was holding.

"What's that", the Icelandic asked carefully, not trusting the other one bit.

"You'll see." Leon's devilish smirk seemed only a smile in the darkness and the other relaxed, leaning over to the filled hands to see what they were hiding. As soon as the Asian deemed his friend close enough, he threw the leafs into the air, letting them float around the surprised other.

"Oh you!" With a growl, Emil chased Leon after the leaves had all fallen down, dirtying his hair and clothes. Their laughter filled the starry sky as the ran around the park, trying to catch each other, throwing more leafs into the air. After a few minutes, the blond captured his source of annoyance and with swift fingers, the Icelandic pulled back the collar on the jumper and dress shirt, shoving in a handful of leafs. The victim groaned and yelped as he felt the cold and wet clothes of the trees touch his bare skin.

"You stupid piece of shit, I'll get you for that!" His shout echoed through the park. The Icelandic responded by laughing at the younger of the two, running away this time. Not wanting to lose his chance to give Emil a good rub of decaying leafs on his face, Leon began chasing after him, the brown, wet little things soiling his hands.

Soon, the pile had disappeared and reappeared on the path and grass where they had been lying until this afternoon, when the rakes had started to tear them away. Out of breath but still giggling and laughing, the two now tired teens fell into the grass, hands finding each other naturally.

"You're really stupid and childish, you know that, right?", Emil asked after catching his breath again, looking over to his friend with a fond smile. A chuckle found its way to his ears as Leon pressed his lips to Emil's hands, making him blush.

"I know, and you are just as stupid, since you stay with me and run around in the park with me", he shot back, winking.

"Yeah…" Their conversation stopped there and they admired the sky together, the older teen playing with the fingers in his hand. The auburn haired sighed contempt and gently squeezed his jumper with the hand that was resting on his chest. Yao would be so angry when he found the dirt stains, he thought.

"I had fun today", he suddenly said, breaking apart the silence. "It was nice. We should do this more often." Emil nodded at the statement, agreeing completely.

"Yeah, it has been a while since we had this much fun together", he responded, his voice gentle in the quiet night.

"Maybe we could do this sometime later this week, when the stress of the tests has been lifted a bit?", the teen next to him proposed, his honey coloured eyes twinkling in the dim light around them.

"Sure, why not? Monday it's the 7th, which is the day our exams start. They'll last until the 15th and the 18th it's the Christmas ball… I don't have a test on the 10th, so perhaps we could go out then?", the older asked, feeling shy for some reason. His face was pink, but that was hidden from curious eyes by the darkness that wrapped around them like a blanket, though it was rather cold instead of toasty warm. Emil shivered.

"I don't see why not. But don't you want to study that day?" Again, Leon was surprised by how stupid his questions could be from time to time. Now Emil would probably tell him that he indeed wanted to study all day on Thursday, instead of going out together. Great job, Leon…

"I do, but I can spend a little time with you, I think. We could do this again, like go for a walk. Or I don't know, we'll think about something." The response that left Emil's kissable lips made the other teen feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Alright, that's settled then. Our next date is on the 10th of December. Let's hope there will be snow then. We could go sledding or hold a snow ball fight", Leon proposed, his voice dripping with excitement as his cheeks started to heat up.

Next to him, Emil also felt his cheeks heat up. Not because of the excitement for snow or sledding, but because of the name Leon had given their next meet up. A date. Wait, did that mean this had also been a date? To the Icelandic, it certainly had been, which was the reason why had chosen to wear something different than his usual jeans with a jumper that had some sort of text on it, usually telling the reader to go somewhere else or to go and fetch him a coffee. Emil's favourite was a crimson one, that read "I hated everyone (Before it was mainstream)" in white letters. But if Leon called their next meeting a date, he probably would call this a date, too.

"So, I was good enough for you to agree to go on a second date?", he asked the auburn male, playing it cool, a smug smile on his face. On the inside, he wasn't feeling secure at all. The other nodded, a smile on his face.

"You bet." They laughed at that, feeling relieved that they both agreed on this matter. A sudden urge to kiss Leon started to boil inside of Emil and he rolled over, hovering over the other. Acting on impulse, he shyly pressed his cold lips onto the other's, pulling away sooner than they had both liked.

"Let's go home, I'm cold", he then told the flushed Asian, tugging on the white collar that wasn't that white anymore.

"I can keep you warm", Leon smirked, feeling awesome for seizing that chance to flirt. And it worked. He felt the warmth on Emil's cheeks that were still awfully close to his own face, their lips almost meeting again. Feeling too flushed, the Icelandic stayed mute, getting up from the clammy, cold ground. Leon followed shortly after, the dampness was starting to seep through his trousers and made him feel uncomfortable.

On their way back home, they didn't talk. Their hands were intertwined again, as if they had always walked together like this, pondering on the night they had spent together, hands keeping each other warm, smiling at the other from time to time. Whenever Leon caught his blond friend looking at him, he winked and enjoyed watching that pretty pink rush towards his cheeks. Tonight had been a wonderful night and both of them hoped Thursday would be just as lovely. Sadly, they arrived at Leon's house way too soon and they lingered on the veranda a tad too long, staring into each other eyes, still silent.

"I better get going now… Lukas will probably be worried about me. If I don't show up on time, he might end up calling the police and everything because he thinks I got kidnapped", Emil joked after another long stare into the dark honey eyes in front of him. A glint of amusement showed in them, a smile surfaced at the same time.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want your mother dear to be worried about you, now would we", Leon joined in, winking at the almost violet eyes that seemed to stare into his soul. "But I am kind of curious, do you kiss on the first date?" He felt proud that he had once more smoothly managed to flirt with Emil, slowly but surely gaining back his composure he had whenever he was flirting. He didn't, however, anticipate that the Icelandic's positive response would send warm shivers down his spine. The flutter in his chest was more than annoying right now, but nevertheless, the Asian pulled the blond into his arms, resting their foreheads together.

"Well, since you said you kissed on the first date…" Without a warning, he gently pressed his lips onto Emil's tasting the sweetness for the second time this evening. Once more, the kiss didn't last long and they just stood there, Leon's arms around Emil's waist, Emil's slender arms around Leon's warm neck. Their eyes were too hypnotizing and every fibre of their bodies screamed for more than just a simple embrace.

"I really have to leave now, though…", Emil whispered after almost ten minutes, starting to shake from the cold.

"Seems so, you are shivering all over. Better go home and warm up. If you don't want to do that, though, you're welcome to get warm in my bed", Leon added, winking at Emil as the last sentence made its way into the chilly air, together with a little cloud.

"Hmm, no, I prefer my own bed and house. Your family doesn't have real coffee, something I really need to be able to wake up properly", the Icelandic declined, blush making him more pretty than ever before.

"I know, Em. Sleep well", the Asian hummed, grabbing his key out of his pocket.

"You too."

After watching Leon enter the house, the blond walked down the path he had walked together with his friend a while ago, heading for his own home, where his brother and Mathias would be waiting, ready to ask him all about tonight. For some magical reason, Lukas had known that this night was special for Emil. Perhaps it was his unusual outfit that gave it away. The teen wasn't sure.

Inside the Wang house, the 17-year-old had to give his all to not run into the living room and blurt out all of the wonderful things he was thinking about right now. Like the way Emil's eyes were glittering in the light of the porch lamp. Or how soft his hands had been, how nice their little kiss in the park had felt. Instead of ruining everything by spilling his secrets, Leon walked up the stairs, a happy smile dancing on his lips. Tonight, he would have lovely dreams with an even lovelier Icelandic teen in them.

* * *

Well, here we are! They finally went on a date. At this point, I am at a bit of a loss how to fill the time gap between the Christmas ball and the current moment. If any of you want to leave a suggestion, feel free to do so in the reviews or in a Private Message.

I can barely believe it, but we have reached almost 2700 views (2690 to be precise) and more than 30 followers. You people are amazing, even though I don't understand what you like about this. But I have been saying that for the past 4 chapters, I think. I really want to rant about how awesome it is that I have managed to write 10 chapters, but I won't. So, thanks for reading, as always.

~Hana


	11. Chapter 11

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

* * *

The days flew by, in which both Emil and Leon spend most of their time studying for the upcoming tests. In between their hours of mental torture, they found time to text each other, skype and scroll through their tumblr while discussing OTPs and AUs for their ever growing love for _Free!,_ _Haikyuu_ and _Attack on Titan_. Sooner than they had expected, their second date was only one day away and they were filled with excitement and anxiety, afraid to mess this up.

Since Emil was a lot like his brother and therefore didn't share his feelings too often, the Icelandic just drowned himself in studying to forget about his worries. Leon, however, seemed to be more distracted and he paced around the house a lot, procrastinating and annoying the other family members. On Wednesday, his nervousness peaked and Yao snapped, irritated and stressed out by Leon's constant sighs, wandering and just Leonness.

"Aiyaah, what's going on in that empty head of yours? You look like a love sick girl or something!", the older Asian called out when Leon walked into the kitchen for the fifth time this morning, only to stare out of the window and sigh again. For a moment, the teen just stared at his older brother, confused with Yao's sudden outburst. Then, he slowly started to explain.

"Well, I'm going on a… a date tomorrow and… Err… I'm scared", the auburn haired teen explained, a blush slowly flowing over his cheeks. The older looked at him as if he had just told him that penguins had come and raided their fridge while singing Christmas carols.

"Who is the unlucky girl that you decided to ask out", Yao then teased, curiosity glimmering in his dark eyes while he put down his spatula and rested his back against the kitchen counter.

"Ah.. well, Emil. I've liked him for a while now… So… And we kind of kissed already and then we didn't talk about it and I wanted to discuss it, but we ended up getting interrupted because Emil had to go home and then we decided to go on a date and now I'm stuck, because he's really cute and fun and I don't know what to do tomorrow, because I want to impress him a little and I'm scared and…-"

"Woah, slow down", Yao said, lifting his hands up and smiling fondly at his little brother, who had just blabbered away because of his nervousness.

"I guess it's not much of a surprise that you'd end up falling in love with the little Bondevik. You two have practically been glued together, aru." Leon rolled his eyes at that statement. Why was he stuck with Yao as a brother?

"If you really want to impress him", the Asian continued, while casting the smaller one a knowing look, "Clean his house for him! Everyone enjoys a clean house to return to."

The teen just stared at the adult in amazement. That was by far one of the worst date ideas he had ever heard.

"Well, I don't think Lukas would appreciate it much if I were to start cleaning their house all of a sudden. I also wouldn't want to stumble across something I'm not supposed to see." The thought of finding Emil's fanfiction stash or something of that sort made Leon's blush flee to his cheeks.

"Mhh, I suppose that is a little too much, aru. Why don't you cook for him? You know what they say; the way to a man's heart, is through his stomach." That was another typical answer for Yao, Leon concluded. He didn't know what else he had expected. His brother, who had been together with his boyfriend for eight years and still didn't live together. Yao was the last person to ask for romance advice.

"Yeah… No. I think I'll leave the cooking to you. If I were to cook, I'd set the whole place on fire, don't you think?" Before the older of the two could respond, Leon had abandoned left the kitchen.

In his room, he was welcomed by the sound of an incoming text message on his phone.

 **From: Puffinhugger**

 **Man, these stupid books are killing me… Help meeeh!**

A smirk brightened Leon's face, eyes showing the fondness he felt when he read the text.

 **From: Jackie Wang**

 **Awww, is the bby tired? Want me to come over?**

 **From: Puffinhugger**

 **Nah, Lukas and Mathias are home, for some reason I don't want to know…**

Yikes, if those two had taken a day off, that could only mean one thing.

 **From: Jackie Wang**

 **Ugh, poor you. Any ideas for tomorrow?**

The text made Emil's heart flutter and cheeks stain red. Now he was thinking about their date again. To be honest, he had been curious for the past few days about what Leon would suggest they could do. The Icelandic teen had no clue, he had no experience with dating or relationships in general, so it was kind of useless to ask him about what to do.

 **From: Puffinhugger**

 **No, you?**

After that text, Leon didn't respond for a while. He wanted to say that he had tons of great ideas and that tomorrow would be a date Emil would not forget soon, but the truth was that he didn't. His mind was blank and he seemed to be at a loss for words, something that happened more often than the Asian wanted to admit. And it only happened when he was around Emil. Leon flopped down on his bed, starting to stare at his ceiling. What was he supposed to do? He liked his friend a lot and he really had enjoyed their silly walk at the park. But he had just no idea how to proceed in their relationship. The Asian didn't want to come off as pushy or clingy, but he also didn't want to seem uninterested. This was so much different than with the girls he had dated for fun…

And that was probably the whole point. All the other people he had gone out with or even had a relationship with, he didn't love them. He just did it for the heck of it, just because he could. With Emil, however, there were feelings to consider. His own feelings. What was his relationship with Emil, he wondered, while he laid down on his side. They couldn't be boyfriends yet, since neither of them had asked the other, nor did they confess. The thought of confessing his feelings made Leon sit up straight and feel a slight panic grow in his chest. How was he supposed to do that? Would he have to write a letter? Were there rules for confessing? Worried, he got up and started to walk around his room again, hands in his hair and talking out loud.

"What am I supposed to say? Just I love you? Is that enough? Will he get what I want to tell him then? And after that? Are we supposed to kiss, like in the movies? Are we a pair after I confess? No wait, Emil has to confess as well… What… What if he doesn't like me back?" He stopped in his tracks, staring at the blue underneath his feet. Indeed, what if Emil didn't like him back? A groan filled the room as he felt tears prickle behind his closed eyelids. This was ridiculous, he knew that. But the little Asian couldn't help but worry his hair out of his head, Emil was so important to him.

"Arrgh! Why can't I come up with something romantic and nice whenever it's needed?!", he exclaimed, pulling at his hair, desperate for an answer that wouldn't come. His bookshelf and desk couldn't talk, after all. Not that he expected they would know the answer, even if they could talk. Oh great, he had turned into a weird person who started to talk to objects.

"You're no help", he told his bed, before he kicked his bean bag. "Neither are you. This is all stupid, why do people fall in love?" He buried his face in his hands and felt the sadness rush over his body. Leon didn't want to feel this way. No one had asked him whether he wanted to be in love, it just had happened.

The sound of his door opening ripped him out of his melancholy, Hyong's poker face peeked from around it.

"Hey, stop making such a ruckus. I can't focus on my homework like this", the younger one said, looking at his brother. As he saw the tears that had spilled from Leon's eyes, his features softened and he opened the door a little more. "Are you okay?", the 14-year-old asked, a bit surprised by his normally distant brother's outburst of emotions. Instead of forcing words out of his mouth, Leon just shook his head, wiping the stubborn tears away. He was not okay. He was anything but okay. For now, the teen didn't care that his younger brother had caught him crying over his worries. It may have been a little overreacting, but really, Leon was so nervous and so worried that he would mess this up, that Emil would reject him or think he was stupid, that the tears just started to flow automatically. Nothing he could do about it.

With a sigh, Hyong entered his older brother's room. Gently, he laid his hand onto Leon's shaking shoulder and motioned him to sit down on his bed. Then, the younger one sat down on the floor, feet folded over his legs.

"Alright, what's going on?", he asked the older. It was a bit uncomfortable for the younger one, but it seemed like Leon was in a predicament that he couldn't figure out himself. The teen on the bed took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and started to ramble about how he didn't know what to do about tomorrow, how nervous he was and how he didn't want to mess this up.

"Why don't you ask Kiku? He has his maid café and knows everything about romance, I think", Hyong said when Leon had stopped talking for three seconds to breathe in. The auburn haired blinked a few times, letting the words sink in.

"That's… Hmm. Maybe I'll try that." The younger smiled.

"Alright, good luck then. I'm going to work on my maths again. And please be quiet this time." The younger one got up and walked out of the room, but not before sending his brother a soft look. "You'll be fine", he said before he closed the door.

After Hyong had left the room, Leon grabbed his phone and dialled Kiku's number, ignoring the message Emil had sent, once more. The phone rang a couple of times before a female voice answered, sounds of plates and cutlery and talking costumers in the background.

"Hello, this is _Magic Melody Café_ , Elizabeta here, how can I help you?" Elizabeta was Kiku's business partner and cook in the Maid café his cousin ran. Sometimes she would help the Asian with tending to the customers and answering the phone. Today was one of those days, as it seemed.

"Hey Eliza, it's Leon. Err, can I… Is Kiku available?", Leon stuttered, pressing his phone closer to his ear.

"No, sorry, he's kind of busy right now. Did you need anything from him?"

"Err, yeah, actually. I was kind of wondering if he could give me some advice…" Subconsciously, the teen had started to fumble with the seam on the bottom of his sock, tearing out the thread and twisting the fabric in between his fingers.

His statement had peaked Elizabeta's interest and the teen already regretted his decision to call his cousin's business. But, desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Oh, you need help with something? Maybe I can help you?" The young Asian hesitated for a while, stammering into the phone. Was it a good idea to talk about this to Eliza? On the other hand, Leon had asked _Yao_ this morning, so how much worse could it get?

"Well, tomorrow I'm going on a date and I'm currently almost having a breakdown, because I'm so scared and nervous and that person means a lot to me and I just don't want to mess this up and-" Before Leon could spend the oncoming thirty minutes rambling, Elizabeta interrupted her boss' cousin.

"Ah, so we're dealing with romance here. And you wanted to ask Kiku, the old man who hasn't had a good round of sex in 5 years, for advice? Man, you're desperate enough to dress up in a Maid costume, it seems. Alright, time for Lizzy, the Romance counsel, to step into action. Let me tell Kiku I'm going on a break, I'll be right with you." Without another word, Elizabeta disappeared from the phone and Leon was left to wait.

Five minutes later, she returned, voice from the café gone.

"I'm back. So, who, what, where and how?" Her voice was a little more serious than before and less loud. She seemed relaxed.

"So, I'm going on a date tomorrow with Emil and I don't know what we could do and for some reason I'm totally stressing over it, like, I can't even speak normally, I just keep rambling and… Yeah. That's it, really." The Hungarian chef hummed into the phone, before gasping.

"Wait, Emil? As in Emil Bondevik? Like, Lukas Bondevik's little brother? NICE! If he's half as handsome as his older brother, you managed to get yourself quite a catch. If it weren't for Mathias and the fact that I'm in love with Roderich and Lukas hadn't been gay, I would sure as hell make work of that. Because darn, that boy is something", Lizzy murmured, mind drifting off.

"I know right?", Leon joined in, eyes sparkling and blush of excitement appearing on his face. "Emil and Lukas are so pretty. But to be honest, I think Emil is more handsome… But that's not why I wanted to date him. I don't know, he's just so nice and I really enjoy spending time with him."

On the other side on the phone, Elizabeta nodded, only to hum in agreement after that, realising that the teen could not see the movement of her head.

"Yes, they are really extraordinary. But listen, you said you had trouble thinking of what to do as a date? What do you normally do when you hang out with him?"

"Well, we just play games and eat, nothing special. But I don't think that's much of a date, really. I want it to be special…", the teen said, voice gentle and filled with love.

"I can imagine. Going on a date with someone who means a lot to you is not something trivial. But I don't think you should sweat it too much. Emil is probably just as nervous and excited as you are for the date. Chances are he doesn't have any clue what to do either. So, instead of pulling all of your hair out of your head and running around in circles, screaming: "What the hell am I supposed to do?", try to calm down a little and think about what kind of activities you enjoy, what you would like to do tomorrow. If you want to bike into town, why not do that? There's enough to do, so who says it won't be fun?"

While Elizabeta had spoken, Leon had stopped tugging on his socks. Instead, he had relaxed a little, thinking about what kind of hobbies he had and what he would like to do.

"You could also visit a place you enjoy going. Let's say you have a spot you always visited when you were little, why not show him? Perhaps there is a place with very pretty scenery, why not go there together? Bring a bit of food, take some drinks with you… Romantic and simple! Oh, if you don't know anywhere to go, I know there's this really pretty outlook point a little to the north of town. Remember that hardware store?" Elizabeta gave the teen an explanation how to get to the outlook point after he had told her that it seemed like a nice idea to take Emil there.

"Was that everything you wanted to know", Elizabeta asked, shifting in the chair she had sat in.

"Yes. NO, actually. On the 18th, school is hosting a Christmas ball and I kind of want to ask Emil, but I don't know how to." Elizabeta's cheerful laughter flowed into Leon's ear after he had asked the question.

"Oh, dear. Do you have a mouth?"

"Yes"

"Then just ask? I mean, if you're going to that outlook point, why not ask him there, when you're holding hands or something? Also, a dance is the perfect opportunity to take things to the next level, if you know what I mean", the woman hinted, winking to no one, since Leon couldn't see it.

"Err, oh… Yeah, I suppose…", the teen stumbled, blushing at the suggestion. "Thanks Lizzy."

"No worries little one. Now go text, call or write Emil and invite him to go for a walk with you! Good luck!" After saying their goodbyes, they ended the call and Leon let out a sigh. Now he had to face his nerves…

 **From: Jackie Wang**

 **Wanna go for a walk or smth? I found this nice place, could go there**

There, he had sent the invitation. The teen felt his heart hammer in his chest, the force making him feel nauseous. Only a few seconds later, Emil responded.

 **From: Puffinhugger**

 **Sure, where do you want to meet up?**

The text may have implied that the Icelandic was calm and composed, but if Leon had been able to see his friend, he would have seen the blond dancing around his room, jumping and giggling. He was so noisy, that Lukas came running into his room, a worried expression on his face.

"Are you okay?", he asked his little brother.

"Umm, yes, I just… Err, I was celebrating a little", Emil stuttered, rubbing over the carpet as if there was a something spilled that he had to clean up.

"Celebrating?", Lukas mused, crossing his hands in front of his chest, interest now sparkling in his eyes.

"Yes, celebrating", the teen confirmed, avoiding his brother's knowing gaze.

"What were you celebrating?"

Emil groaned. Why did his brother ask so many questions? Especially questions he didn't want to answer?

"Something." He felt no need to share his secrets with his brother. That's why they were called secrets after all. Glancing up, he met the Norwegian's prying stare. Oh no.

"Is that something related to Leon?" Lukas almost hugged his brother when the younger one started to blush in the most adorable way the adult had ever seen. Of course Mathias had talked about Emil when the youngest of the household had come to him for advice. They were boyfriends, so Lukas knew about almost everything that was said in the conversation, except for the part where the Dane had talked about his own feelings. That was his little secret.

"Seeing that you're blushing right now, I'll take that as a yes. So, what's up." When the younger Bondevik didn't answer, Lukas walked over and poked him in the sides, trying to get him to talk after all.

"Fiiine.. Ugh. I'm going out with Leon tomorrow." Emil rolled his eyes when a rare smile appeared on Lukas' face.

"So you two _are_ dating after all. MATHIAS!"

"What's up Luke?" Mathias walked in, looking confused at the two brothers.

"You own me, Emil is dating Leon." Emil just stared at his brother and Mathias. These two had bets going on about who he was dating?

"What? Aww come on!", the Dane sighed. A smug expression had settled onto Lukas' stoic face. "Fine, but can we do that tonight?" To Emil's horror, Mathias wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, making the older Bondevik blush.

"Okay, get out of my room. Go flirt somewhere else. I gotta study", the Icelandic teen said, pushing his brother out of his room. "Thank you for your visit, it was much appreciated, come back soon, bye." When the two lovebirds had left his room, hands already roaming over each other's bodies, the blond closed his door and let his body slide down the door, until he was sitting on the floor.

The beeping of his phone made him get up and almost launch himself at the device. For a brief moment, he ridiculed himself for his odd behaviour, but then the excitement took over once more and he unlocked his phone.

 **From: Jacky Wang**

 **I'll pick you up. You better be dressed though, unlike me ;)**

Emil smiled, remembering the little situation on Friday, before he typed in his reply.

 **From: Puffinhugger**

 **Sure, around 7?**

 **From: Jackie Wang**

 **Sounds fine to me**

For the rest of the night, the two of them studied, so they would be able to spend the evening off tomorrow.

The next day, Emil woke up with a fluttery feeling in his chest. While preparing his food, he hummed a happy tune and his brother shot him a questioning look. The teen just ignored him and proceeded to pour himself a cup of coffee. Lukas decided he wanted to tease his little brother a little more today.

"So, when is your date with Leon?", he said, smirking. The younger one almost let out a groan, but knowing that was exactly what his brother hoped for, he just shrugged.

"He'll be here at seven. I'll be studying now." With that, he ushered out of the kitchen, back into his bedroom. He was filled to the brim with a happy feeling, that spilled out in the form of a wide grin when his phone told him that he had received a new message.

 **From: Jackie Wang**

 **Ready for today? First stuDYING though…**

The annoyance that Leon wanted to show with his message made Emil chuckle. God, he was just like a love sick girl…

The day flew by, even though Emil and Leon had a lot of trouble wrestling themselves through their studies, getting interrupted by buzzes and beeps from their cell phones. Finally, _finally_ the clock showed Emil that he only had one hour left to wait and he closed his book with a satisfying thud. Time to figure out an outfit. For a moment, he wondered if he should wear a jacket, since it was a date after all. But in the end, he went for a light grey jumper and a midnight blue dress shirt underneath. That way, it would be nice and warm. For trousers, he stuck with denim jeans, black converse shoes topped it off. On a whim, Emil grabbed his fedora and put it on his head. Then, he winked at the teen staring back at him, making the reflection and thus himself blush at his weirdness. He was ready to go.

Leon arrived on time, just like a gentleman should. He had decided to pull out a walnut coloured blazer, a crimson scarf, a white dress shirt and nearly back jeans. His feet were hidden in crimson sneakers, matching his scarf. A grey backpack hugged him around the shoulder, containing food and a blanket to keep them warm.

"Hey", he greeted the Icelandic, who let his eyes wander over his friend. "You look nice tonight. I mean, err, you always do, but I like your outfit tonight." The Asian seemed to stumble over his words and his cool attitude disappeared. Emil chuckled.

"You look handsome yourself." Both of them blushed then, staring at each other awkwardly, before Leon saved them by sticking out his hand.

"Shall we go then? We're going to have to walk for a little while." His date nodded, accepting the hand and tugging the door shut behind him.

"Do it safe!", Lukas and Mathias shouted from inside. Emil rolled his eyes and Leon giggled. Happy to be with his friend again, the auburn haired squeezed the Icelandic's hand. His gentle smile was returned by the blond and they made their way to the outlook point.

Their walk to the hidden treasure of the town, as Elizabeta had called it, was filled with chatter and comfortable silences. From time to time, they would squeeze each other's hand or smile at each other. A few times, when they thought no one was looking, they stopped and shared a shy kiss, only to start walking again with a pretty shade of red plastered on their faces.

"It's nice, being here with you", Leon suddenly said, interrupting the silence that had accompanied them for the past ten minutes. The statement surprised Emil and he didn't know what to say. Instead of describing his feelings with words, he lifted their hands towards his lips and gently pressed his cold lips to Leon's. The Asian teen smiled and tugged his friend into a hug. For a few minutes, they just stayed like this, arms around each other's waists, cheeks flushed from the cold and emotions. Neither of them really wanted to let the other go, but the cold started to tickle their skin, ushering them to move on. Without a word, they continued their walk, hands still stuck together as if connected by glue.

When they finally reached their destination, they were cold and in desperate need of a warm drink. The view, however, made them stop in their tracks and adore the skyline that spread in front of them. Even though their town was not as grand as other cities in the surrounding area, the skyline was just as breath taking. Hundreds of little lights were scattered over the horizon, making it seem as if there were skies littered across the land. Overwhelmed by the beauty their little hometown could harbour, Leon snuck his arm around Emil's waist, pulling him closer to himself. A gentle kiss was pressed to his cheek. They exchanged another smile, before settling down on the grass.

To keep the cold from invading their skins, Leon pulled out the blanket that he had been keeping in the backpack and wrapped it around their shoulders. Emil snuggled against his date, smelling his cologne and feeling the warmth radiating off his skin. It was a perfect evening, even though the air was cold and biting their noses.

"It's cold", the Icelandic said, burying his nose into the crook of Leon's shoulder.

"Want me to warm you?", Leon smirked, tugging his friend closer. The question warmed Emil's face, made his heart flutter. Not taking the time to wait for an answer, he pressed his lips to the Icelandic's, tasting the cold on them. "Better", he asked, smug expression adorning his face.

"No", the other shot back, mischief glinting in his eyes.

"Oh? Well, I guess I'll have to continue then", the Asian said, pressing his lips onto the other's once more.

"Mhm", Emil hummed after they broke their kiss again, only to start kissing Leon after that.

Soon, their lips were warmed, a bit swollen by the touches and occasional bites. Their hearts were fluttering in their chests, stomachs overflowing with happiness. In order to not lose the warmth that had been created by their bodies, the older teen scooted closer, pressing his hip and torso against the Asian. Caught in the moment and drunk on the feeling their kisses had created, he let his thoughts spill.

"I love you", he whispered, little clouds dancing into the darkness of the night while he spoke.

* * *

I had planned to write two chapters for Christmas, but a few things happened (6 updates for my Kisses series and suddenly getting visitors, mainly) and now I'm stuck with a started 12th Chapter. I promise I will upload that between the 26th and 28th, so stay tuned for that!

~Hana


	12. Chapter 12

The words were still hanging in the air, mesmerising Leon. He couldn't believe his ears. With surprise, he looked at his friend, who had hidden his blushing face against the Asian's shoulder. This was one of the best nights he had ever lived through. Not too long ago, he had been fussing about what Emil would say if Leon were to confess to his friend, and now this had happened. What was he supposed to say? Of course, he loved Emil too. But was that enough? Would he be able to get his feelings through, with just those words?

While he was trapped in his worries, Leon didn't notice that the teen resting on his shoulder had let go of him. Emil was looking at him, slightly scared.

"Leon?", he asked, his voice trembling slightly. He was afraid. Afraid that he had spoken too soon, that he would be rejected. He really regretted speaking his mind, even though it had been because he was caught in the moment. But, there was no way he could turn back time and his feelings laid there, naked, in front of Leon, who still hadn't responded. As it would turn out, the other would not respond. Not with words. Before the Emil could ask him what was wrong, his lips were sealed with Leon's in a firm kiss.

Instead of pushing him away and demanding an answer, like he had planned, the Icelandic just gave up and slowly kissed him back, his left arm sliding around the Asian's neck. He closed his eyes, letting their kiss deepen as the other gently licked Emil's lips, asking for more. Being shy at first, the older teen opened his mouth only slightly, but when he felt the auburn's hands roaming his body, he relaxed and opened up more. Their breaths were visible in the cold December air, little clouds drifting upwards to the starts. It was perfect.

Gently, Leon laid down his date on the cold grass. He placed his hands next to the blonde's head, looking in his eyes. A smile was sent his way and made the Asian feel all warm inside. The blanket, that had been draped over their shoulders when they had been sitting, was now spread over Leon's back and looked a bit like a table cloth. Emil giggled and pulled his friend closer, arms behind his neck, until the slightly taller teen was resting on his chest, ear planted above his heart. With hazy eyes, the blond looked at the sky through the leafs above him, that seemed black in the night. He watched the little clouds form from his mouth, watched a satellite wink at him from the dark, dark blue above him. Then, he closed his eyes and sighed contently, feeling Leon's head rise with his chest. The teen above him hummed at his sigh and propped himself up his elbows, planting a kiss on Emil's cold forehead.

The two stayed like this for a while, looking at each other and exchanging kisses, sometimes long and deep, including their tongues, other times just tiny and barely there, a whisper of touches. They were filled with warmth, even though the air became colder and colder as time passed and the stars moved along the sky. The food and drinks in the backpack were forgotten, the only thing that was important was the touch of the other and the connecting of their lips from time to time. When they barely could see the other, they finally let go of each other and spoke for the first time in hours.

"What time is it?" Emil's voice seemed a little rough, probably from the lack of fluids in his body after not drinking enough. Leon reached for his phone, checking the digits that lit up on the screen, blinding him. Eleven thirty, they shouted, accompanied by a couple of missed calls and messages.

"Eleven thirty. Seems Yao has been getting worried about me, he called." If it hadn't been too dark and Leon hadn't been blinded by his phone, he would have seen the sudden look of realisation on Emil's face, who hastily pulled out his own device. Nothing. Probably because his ever horny brother would take advantage of the fact that he had been gone for this long.

"I guess we should be going home then", Emil sighed, getting up. He grimaced, because of the wet grass, his jeans were now wet and it was anything but comfortable. Leon didn't respond, he was too busy texting Yao that he would be coming home and that no, he had not been kidnapped, and yes, Emil was still with him, and no, they were not dealing or doing drugs, and no, this time he had not been drinking. The teen groaned and reached for the Icelandic's cold hands, swinging their arms.

"I had fun", he commented, after he had stuffed the blanket back into the backpack. They were walking back slowly, savouring the time that was left together. For a moment, Emil was contemplating on asking Leon for his answer to his confession, but decided not to do it. Perhaps his friend had not been ready for this?

"Me too", he whispered instead. A silence dawned upon them, making the Icelandic feel awkward for the first time in almost two weeks. In his mind, he started searching for a topic to talk about. Anything, something they could discuss, someone to ridicule, a pairing, a meme, anything. But his thoughts seemed to be asleep and missing in action, for his mind stayed as empty as the roads before them.

The other teen seemed fine with the silence, smiling happily into the nothingness in front of them. Streetlights caressed their figures whenever they passed one, throwing an orange glow onto the pavement and the couple. Suddenly, Emil's voice pierced through the night, shattering the silence with his whispers.

"Do you already have someone to take with you to the Christmas ball?", he asked, fidgeting with the inside of his pocket with his non-occupied hand.

"Nope, you?"

"No…"

Truth be told, Emil fancied going with Leon as his date. But the Asian just didn't seem to be able to take a hint and the Icelandic was just too shy, too afraid after his confession had seemingly been ignored by the other. So, he stayed silent again, not showing how rejected and disappointed he felt. Relieved, he noticed that they had entered their neighbourhood. He'd be home soon, away from this slightly depressing atmosphere.

Instead of focussing on the road, the blond looked at the fairy lights their neighbours had already put up, dreaming away a little. He had always loved the little decorations, it made the whole area feel as if it were a mythical place. As a child, he had believed that actual fairies had set up the strings of light, and that they would dance among them when everyone was asleep. Now that he had grown up, he knew better, but the little spots of yellow, green, red or blue still gave him a special feeling. '

Sooner than expected, the two reached Leon's house and they parted at the front door, not without kissing once more.

"So… Umm… Do you… want to go to the ball… With me?" The question surprised Emil a little and made him feel his cheeks heat up. His response was just as awkward as he was feeling.

"Err, sure?" The other smiled and pulled the blond into a hug, pressing his face into the crook of his neck.

"Alright, that's settled then. Our next date is at the school dance." Happiness swung in Leon's voice.

"Shall I pick you up this time", the Icelandic managed to squeeze out. A bright smile flashed before him, sending sparkles to the honey eyes above the smile.

"Sounds good to me. We can walk to school or something." The nervous teen answered with a nod, making the other smile even more. "Well, see you tomorrow then." The Asian placed another kiss to Emil's lips, before disappearing into the house. With a sigh, the one standing outside made his way home. He was tired.

* * *

Caught up in the stress studying, taking tests and the anticipation for the dance caused him, Emil barely found the time to text Leon, browse the internet or to go shopping for a suit. Sure, he still had his old one, but since last year he had grown a little bit, which meant that the clothes didn't fit him nicely anymore. Thus, two days before the big day, after the Icelandic had taken his last test, his brother and Mathias had decided they would go shopping. The teen hated that, but there was no way Lukas and the Dane were going to let him go in an outfit that showed his very embarrassing baby blue puffin socks. No, he would have to be dressed properly. On the other hand, the youngest didn't mind that much. At least he would know for sure that he would look good on the special night.

In the car, Emil allowed himself to think about that night. Perhaps they would dance together. Leon's arms would be wrapped around his waist, the music would be slow and the lights would be dimmed. They'd swing around, moving along the dancefloor, ignoring everyone around them while they'd stare into each other's eyes, smiles on their faces. Maybe they'd kiss. Perhaps Leon would even confess to him, ask him to be his boyfriend. The thought alone was enough to almost make Emil squeal like an anime protagonist.

Once they had arrived at the shopping centre, Emil was all hyped up for his perfect date with Leon in a few days. With an uncommon smile sitting on his lips, he walked around the polished floors, his brother and Mathias following behind. The Dane had insisted on holding Lukas' hand, and the Norwegian had finally given in, causing the happy-go-lucky man to beam brightly from his eyes. The teen didn't really care, he was still away with the fairies, head making up all kinds of scenarios.

Inside the store, Lukas and Mathias immediately began to pull out all kinds of suits, neckties and shoes, pairing them together and then putting them back to where they came from, unsatisfied by the way it looked. From time to time, they made Emil try one on. The Icelandic didn't really care that much, it was not like he had a lot of fashion sense. The majority of his wardrobe consisted of jumpers, jeans and three pairs of converse shoes. A few dress shirts for special occasions, but that was about it. No, it would be best to let the older two do the selecting. In the end, they settled for a black suit, his dress shirt was white, like it was supposed to be. The only thing that didn't really match, was the light blue bow tie. Of course, Lukas had insisted that his little brother would have to look very nice that night, so he went ahead and bought a pocket handkerchief that matched the bow tie. So much for being old fashioned.

On their way home, his brother asked him whether he knew how to dance and whether Mathias and he should teach him when they were back. Somehow not surprised by his brother's fussing, Emil declined, already knowing that there was no way he would succeed in following Lukas' instructions without starting an argument. Normally, the two Bondeviks would get along fine, even though snarky comments and sarcasm were often used between them, occasionally paired with an insult. However, when Lukas was trying to teach Emil something new, especially if the younger one deemed it unnecessary, arguments would start. Lukas would become fed up with his brother's attitude and Emil would become annoyed with the whole teaching in general. So, the younger one avoided it at all cost.

"I don't think Emil is a big fan of dancing. However, I think I might need a few lessons", Mathias smirked when Lukas was about to push his luck, wiggling his eyebrows at Lukas, then winking at Emil through the rear view mirror.

"Hmpf, there was nothing else to be expected from an idiot like you, Mathias", the man in the passenger seat commented, before gently grabbing the driver's hand and stroking the back of it. "We'll see", he continued, watching the road again.

For the rest of the day, Emil was left alone. When he went to the bathroom, faint music found its way to his ears from downstairs, and he couldn't help but smile. His brother was now probably dancing with Mathias. Somehow, that seemed very adorable to the teen. No, Emil didn't hate his brother, nor Mathias. He just didn't like it when they were sucking of their faces. That was just gross.

The evening made its entry and the teen returned to his room, chatting with Leon and Vlad, scrolling through his social media platforms and listening to music. He watched some videos, started on a new series of anime and read a few stories. Just his regular night. From time to time, his gaze would wander from the screen to his wardrobe, where Lukas had hung the suit. A faint smile then found its way to Emil's face and happy anticipation would start to stir his stomach. Only two nights…

The seventeenth, the day before the big night, was uneventful. School dragged on and on, leaving the Icelandic exhausted by the end of the day. Every time he caught Leon looking at him, his body would let him know that he was nervous to no extend, really excited for the next day. The two talked about all kinds of things, but again ignored the most important topic they would have to discuss; Emil's confession. The blond teen mentally sighed when the conversation fell still and wished once more that he had not spoken his mind that evening. Even though it had led to the most wonderful night full of kissing. Were they an item now? Ever since Leon had called their meet ups dates, the other couldn't help but think about that.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to be the Asian's boyfriend. He did love him, that Emil knew for sure. But what would it be like, having a relationship with Leon? Would they be different from now? Would they see each other more, kiss more? Would they hold hands at school? Would Emil be able to still talk to Vlad? His thought soup continued to boil until the school bell signalled the students release. The teacher wished them all a nice day and said that she couldn't wait until the next day, when she would see all her little students looking 'stunningly beautiful', as she had said. On Friday, the school would be closed until the dance, since the teachers and some of the students would have to prepare the dance floor and set up for that night.

On his way back to the Bondevik-Køhler house, Emil wondered how he would spend his free time. Perhaps he could sleep in, walk around in his sleep wear until noon, do nothing but stalk people on the internet, drink coffee and eat. Of course, he would have to get ready on time, since he was going to pick up Leon, but that was not until seven thirty in the evening, so he had enough time to waste. For now, though, he had to decide what he would do today.

He ended up spending his whole afternoon and night watching anime, reading stories and watching videos about romantic things, trying to prepare himself for the next day, failing horribly at containing his feelings. Nervousness was plaguing him, eating him up. Assuming that he would be unable to sleep very long in anticipation for the next day, Emil decided to go to bed early.

Only to be unable to fall asleep.

Emil had turned around countless times, had tried pulling the blanket off, wearing no pyjamas, wearing only a shirt and boxers, wearing on bottoms, all kinds of sleeping positions. He had listened to music, he had checked his tumblr, read a book. Not even drinking tea helped him and at four a.m., he was desperate for sleep, but realised that it would probably not come to him. With a groan, the teen got up and made his way downstairs. If he was awake, he might as well just go downstairs and sit there, since there was nothing interesting on his computer.

In the kitchen, he made himself another cup of tea, not wanting to drink coffee right now, just in case sleep would come at last. Then, he walked into the living room and slumped down on the sofa, pulling the blanket that they always kept there, over his bare legs to keep him warm. The considered turning on the television for distraction, but discarded the idea soon, seeing there was probably nothing interesting being broadcasted right now. Instead, he just curled up on the cushions and closed his eyes, pondering about life and whether pigeons had feelings.

His mind continued to race and ask silly questions, until it became more serious and deep. It wondered whether Leon had purposely ignored Emil's confession, whether the teen meant anything to the Asian at all. In his current state of sleep deprivation, his mind succeeded in making the blond believe that he was worthless to the other, that they had only kissed because the other felt pity. But it didn't end there, his mind spawned bad feeling after bad feeling, convincing the young on that he was worth not even the dirt on the floor, that he was a bother to his brother and Mathias, that they didn't care, that no one cared and that he should disappear, before he would annoy them too much. Later, Emil would blame it on the lack of sleep, but somehow tears had started to accumulate in his eyes and were threatening to flow over, onto his skin.

Hugging the blanket, pulling it closer, he rolled to his side, knees towards his chest to keep himself small and warm. He wanted to disappear to a place where his sorry self could not hurt other people with his presence. Somewhere else, so his brother and Mathias and all the other people he knew would finally have a little moment of peace. Of course, this thought was ridiculous, but he couldn't stop it. His mind whispered more and more horrible things, until he was so exhausted, he just fell asleep, still curled up like a cat and tears on his face.

The sound of footsteps woke him, hours later, eyes puffy and little streaks of salt on his flushed skin. Cold met his warm skin when he dropped the blanket to get up and see who had woken up. Emil shivered. He found Mathias in the kitchen, who was startled by the intruder.

"Hey Emil. Didn't know you were up", the Dane greeted him. Then he turned around to pour some of the hot liquid he had prepared into a cup, bringing it to his lips and smelling it. The older male let his eyes take in the teen, before opening his loud mouth again. "You okay? Ya seem like ya had a tough night." For once, he was not shouting. His voice was gentle, concerned and his eyes had darkened in colour.

"Yeah… I couldn't sleep very well and… I thought a bit too much, I guess", the teen said, shrugging it off. In desperate need for something to warm him, Emil reached behind the spikey haired man and grabbed the coffee, filling his own cup with the liquid. The two men just stood in the kitchen, backs leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping their coffee in silence. It was nice, the platinum blond concluded, taking little bits of the brown fluid into his mouth. There was nothing the Icelandic wanted to talk about. He just wanted it to be evening.

Meanwhile, Leon had jumped out of bed, all excited for the upcoming night. His suit was already laying on his chair, carefully placed there the night before. He walked into the bathroom, stripping off his pyjama shirt and bottoms, smiling prettily at the reflection in the mirror. Then, he made the reflection wink at him, smirking at its real-life clone.

"Hello there", the teen said, making his voice husky and low, licking his lips. "You look really stunning today", he continued, flirting with his twin behind the glass. "Mind if we dance?" The surface felt cold underneath his fingers. After nodding at the mirror, the brunet raised one arm as if he were holding someone's shoulder, the other curving like it was placed around a waist. He turned around, moving along to an imaginary waltz, smiling at his pretend partner.

For a brief moment, the teen closed his eyes, swinging around on the cold bathroom floor, moving an invisible dancer across it. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself almost dancing into the toilet and he quickly steered away from it, giggling at the air in his arms.

"You have enchanted me. Your eyes are the most beautiful eyes in this world and your lips look so very kissable", he whispered, leaning to where he thought his made up date's ear would be. "Let me kiss you."

Exactly then, Yong Soo walked into the bathroom and just stared at his older brother, who was bent over, his arms as if they were holding someone and lips puckered.

"Err…" Leon started, blushing hard while he stood normally again.

"I guess I'll come back later", Young Soo said, a smirk on his face. He then turned around, leaving the other to his daydreams again.

After pretending for a little longer that he was dancing and flirting with his date, Leon finally stepped into the shower and turned on their Bluetooth device, connecting it to his cell phone. He randomly clicked on a song and let the water from the shower head pour down on him. The first notes floated into the steamy bathroom, sending shiver down his spine. It was his favourite song, a cover of a popular pop song from a while back, this time sung by a male instead of a woman. His own tenor joined the recorded one as he sang along to the first lines.

 _I think you're pretty, without any make up on, I think you're funny, when you tell the punchline wrong._

The lyrics reminded him of Emil. Of how clumsy his friend could be, shy and flustered when he dropped his textbooks again, or when he walked into the doorpost because he had his head in the clouds. Or of how bad he was at telling jokes, because he always ended up laughing before he got to the punchline, sometimes having to laugh so much, that tears ran down his cheeks. In that point, he was very different from his brother, Leon thought.

After washing himself, the song changed and while he dried himself off, and the teen started to hum along. He didn't know the lyrics to this one yet, but the melody was already saved in his brain. It took him longer than usual to get ready, mainly because he enjoyed the music too much and he ended up dancing in his birthday suit while he was drying his hair. Swinging through the luckily empty hallway, the brunet's mind was once again sending him images of tonight. In his room, Leon stood in front of his wardrobe, still naked, hands on his hips.

"What to wear today….", he mused, looking at the colourful collection of fashion items. He decided to just randomly grab a few items, since he was not planning on going out today.

After breakfast, he started on his morning routine, consisting of checking his social media, eventually responding to messages, brushing his teeth and styling his hair. Even though it always looked as if his hair was just in a random style, he actually spent time on it every day to get it to look that way. After getting ready, Yao asked him if he would want to go shopping together. With a shrug, Leon decided that he might as well, seeing there was nothing special he would have to do today. The clothes he had pulled out of his wardrobe were fashionable enough to be seen with in public, so there was nothing speaking against it.

Of course, his older brother ended up taking hours and hours to buy all the things he needed. All kinds of special offers, try outs and sales caught the older Asian's attention, causing him to suddenly run halfway across the store to check them out. It happened more than once that Leon lost his older brother in the aisles when the teen looked away for one second. The trip was, needless to say, very exhausting for both of them and after they arrived home and had packed away the groceries and obtained unnecessary sales, they both fell asleep in the living room, Yao on the sofa, the other curled up in one of the chairs.

They were woken up by Yong Soo who stomped down the stairs, screaming that he was hungry and that he needed food before they would leave for the school dance. The clock scared Leon by showing him that he only had forty-five minutes left before his date would come to pick him up, and he still had to put on his suit, re-do his hair and eat. Great.

With trembling fingers, Emil pressed the doorbell. It took Leon a few moments to get to the door. His tie was not done yet and his hair was standing in all kinds of directions, face flushed and dress shirt untucked.

"Err, yeah, me and Yao kind of fell asleep in the living room… Want to come in?", he said, apologising for his messy appearance. His friend nodded, stepping past the auburn, into the lovely smelling house. The twins rushed by, both in their suits, yelling for the oldest to help them get ready.

"Your house is… Lively today", the Icelandic commented, looking at his friend.

"Things didn't really go as planned", the other said, shrugging. "You don't, by any chance, know how to do this?", he asked, pointing at the red tie that was hanging around his neck. With a sigh, the blond grabbed and pulled it, unexpectedly kissing his friend. Then, pretending as if that had never happened, he tied it neatly.

"There." Leon smiled at the older teen and hooked their arms together.

"Shall we go? Did I tell you yet that you look absolutely stunning tonight?" He winked at the now slightly flushed Icelandic next to him and they made their way to the door. "Yao, we're leaving!" His brother rushed into the hallway, camera clutched between his fingers.

"Not before I take a picture, aru!" Yong Soo and Hyong were forced to join the older teens and they stood in a row, showing their best pretend smiles. "Have fun!", Yao wished them, before closing the door behind his three brothers and the Icelandic. Then, they set off, butterflies in their stomachs, ready to dance the night away.

* * *

Well, a little later than I had hoped, but here it is. Chapter 12. Gosh, I never expected to ever get this far.

Until New years, I'll probably take a little time off from writing, draw the picture that came to my mind when I was writing about the date and I don't know, just relax. If I manage to finish the drawing soon, it'll be posted to my tumblr, which you can find on my profile here on .

I wanted to thank you all again, because we have reached over 3500 views and almost 40 followers and I'm just so flattered that you all enjoy this story. I'm still very insecure when it comes to my writing, so yeah...

~Hana


	13. Chapter 13

The Christmas party was a disaster. Not only because of the embarrassing dances the teachers danced, the stupid songs, the absence of alcohol or just the fact that Leon and Emil were both too shy to dance together. No, one of the teachers had decided that it would be a good idea to hang up mistletoes around the hall, much to the students' dismay. For the couples, it wasn't that bad. Alfred and Lily seemed to have made it a sport to get under as many hanging bundles of leafs as possible while dancing happily. Even Toris and Feliks were at one point caught together.

Emil had just been glooming in a corner, sulking and sipping his non-alcoholic drink. Leon had left him for the dance floor, shaking, winking and flirting with everything and everyone except for the Icelandic. Insecurity started to glow inside of him while he watched his crush dance around with Emma, Feliks and to the Nordic teen's surprise, Toris and Matthew. After about thirty minutes, the lonely boy received company from Vlad, who had tried to get Natalya to dance with him, which obviously failed.

"So, what are you sulking about?", he asked, leaning against the wall Emil was using for support. The other gave no verbal response, but shrugged and sighed instead, taking another sip of the red drink in his hands. When the Romanian kept looking at him, he let another sigh free.

"Leon's been avoiding me ever since we got here. We were supposed to dance together and have a nice night together…" The pout the Icelandic was sporting, sounded through in his voice, which ensured a chuckle from his friend.

"Is that all? Why don't you just go out there yourself and dance? They won't bite, unlike me", he commented, winking at the still pouting teen next to him.

Shaking his head, the icy blond downed the liquid in his glass, wiping his mouth with his sleeve afterwards. The motion earned him a disapproving glare from his friend.

"No, I'm too awkward for that. I can't dance and I'm too shy, I guess", Emil said, barely loud enough to hear over the music. Now it was Vlad's turn to shake his head.

"You're hopeless, you know that", he asked, smiling at the other. He only got a nod as response. "But, tell me, what's been going on between you and the Asian anyway? I thought you didn't talk that much anymore?" Another nod, before the Icelandic motioned his friend to follow him somewhere more quiet. It wasn't like Leon was going to miss him anyway, he thought bitter, before they left.

Emil was somewhat right. The Asian teen was enjoying himself profoundly, feeling like a fish in water as he was dancing to song after song, smiling at the classmates that had joined him. They were standing somewhat in a circle, Toris and Felix barely taking their eyes off each other, Emma, Matthew and Leon making fun of the couple while moving along to the beat. To be frank, the Asian had not forgotten about his partner. On the contrary, his mind was only filled with Emil in his beautiful outfit, how he had blushed when they had kissed under the mistletoe that was hanging from the ceiling in front of the entrance. Or how cute he had looked when he had picked him up from his house and Yao had insisted on taking a picture of the four teens. He shook his head as he let himself sink towards the floor in sync with the song.

The thing was, he knew that his little Icelandic wasn't a big fan of parties and big crowds. In all earnest, the Asian teen would have loved to dance together, romantic and slow, sharing sweet kisses while forgetting about the world in each other's arms. However, Emil was not likely to enjoy that, so he had given up on that little fantasy at the same time it had appeared in his mind. Making it happen, that was. The scene had played in front of his mental eyes many, many times. It was comforting and had lulled him to sleep more often than he cared to admit. So, here he was, standing alone on the dance floor, leaving the object of his desire enjoy himself somewhere else.

Wondering if the cute blond was indeed enjoying himself, the brunet turned to where he had last seen the small Icelandic, only to discover that he was gone. It annoyed Leon a little, but he decided to not chase his friend. Maybe he had left to visit the restroom? A new song started to play, bass loud and dirty, encouraging the students to let their bodies talk and sway, swooning the people that were sharing the floor or watching. He was in love with the DJ's music choices, the Asian concluded, before he let his mind shut off and his instincts take over, speaking without words.

Vlad was a pain in the arse. Not literally, that would be awkward. No, his questions, comments and smirks were one day going to drive Emil insane. They had retreated to the flight of stairs that led to the first floor. The music was still clearly audible, but less loud, which meant that the two friends could talk at normal volume this time. The Icelandic felt his head pound and ears ring from the loud beats that had tortured him before. He sighed for the probably one hundredth time that night and rubbed his eyes with his left hand, listening to Vlad's question.

"So, fire away. What happened?" The Romanian rested his face in his hand, leaning onto his knees with his elbows. His face was all eagerness and curiosity and he almost seemed to beg his friend for the information.

"Well… We kind of, might have kissed the night before his birthday", Emil mumbled, looking at his shoes and playing with his hair, desperate to avoid the knowing gaze of the other.

"No way! Are you dating now? Did you confess? Have you kissed again? Wait, of course, at Leon's birthday party. Does he like you?" The lavender eyed teen almost regretted telling his cheeky friend about his love life. Almost.

"Yeah, we kissed after that. And not only at the party. I think we're dating, we did go on two dates already… I kind of confessed on the last one… And I don't know what he thinks, whether he like me or not. Which is kind of the source of my troubles here." His voice was showing his insecurity, sounding a little scared, and trembling ever so slightly.

The Romanian was quiet for once, his smugness gone and instead nodding, taking in the information given to him.

"I think I get it. I mean, I can relate, since I don't know what Natalya thinks about me, either. One day she's listening to me and not threatening to cut my head off, the other day she ignores me and glares at me whenever I come close to her… Love's a mystery", he sighed, closing his eyes in thought. Now it was the Icelandic's turn to stay quiet, amazed by the mature feeling his friend suddenly seemed to create. The suit he was wearing only helped.

They stayed still for a moment, both thinking about what to do and how to feel, at a loss what the proper response was to the problems that were spread out in front of them.

"Yeah, love is difficult", Emil finally admitted, getting up from the stairs. "I could use another drink… Care to join?" He expected the other to accept, but he was instead declined.

"Nah, I think I'll stay here for a little. Maybe my beautiful princess will come looking for me then, once she realises how much of a prince I am", Vlad said, smirk back on his face. His friend rolled his pretty eyes and then walked away, grimacing at the loud sounds coming from the hall where his peers were still dancing in a throbbing crowd, whipped into excitement by the steady beat escaping the speakers.

The Asian was nowhere to be seen and the tired teen felt a little stab of disappointment. Annoyed, he shrugged, playing it cool and pretending not to care while walking to the makeshift bar the school had created for that night. The bartender smiled at him and gave him a flirty wink, which increased Emil's annoyance. Why did people seem to enjoy embarrassing him in the most stupid ways?

"So, what can I get you this time, cutie?", the man asked. He had a little stubble on his chin and dark hair. His attitude could best be described as carefree. A little bit like Mathias, Emil thought while he named his order.

"Coming right up", the bartender mused, winking again at the teen in front of him.

Of course, it was kind of risky to flirt with a high school student. But hey, he had left his prison they called school only two years ago, so he couldn't be that much older than that gorgeous male standing in front of him. The teen seemed a little down, so maybe a little flirting would give him a heads up?

"Here ya go." As he turned around, he noticed that his pretty view turned around, which gave him an even better view. A whistle escaped his lips as he took in the curves in front of him, almost missing the counter and nearly dropping the glass. His prince stayed silent as he placed the coins on the wood, only a nod as a silent thanks. He gladly watched the student as he made his way through the masses of people in the hot room. Was it just his imagination, or had the temperature risen a little bit?

Emil tried to get back to the corner he had been lingering in before he had left the room with Vlad, careful not to bump into other people and thus spilling his drink. Somehow, he managed to get back without losing half of the drink. A content sigh left his mouth after taking in the welcome fluid, letting his eyes dart over the masses that were moving along to the song. Leon was still not anywhere around him, but the Icelandic had enough and kind of just wanted to go home… The music was too loud and hurting his head again, he was all alone once more and the Asian and his twin brothers had disappeared the minute the four of them walked in. What a lovely evening.

Sure, Vladimir was right and he could just think 'fuck it' and get out on the dance floor, grab someone and enjoy himself. Forget about Leon and the things that happened between them. But something inside of him kept him from doing just that and instead made him wait for the other, knowing he would never come.

The night went on, song after song filling the air, vibrating in his chest and pounding against his ears. He would hear a whistle for the next day, Emil was sure of that. Slowly, more students were caught under the mistletoe, and even some teachers had to share an awkward kiss, most of them on flustered cheeks. Even though he was thirsty, the Icelandic teen didn't leave for the bar again, not wanting to encounter the flirty barman anymore. He felt tired and annoyed.

Somewhere in between two annoying songs, Vladimir had managed to drag his glaring queen out on the dance floor and proceeded to twirl her around. Once he caught his friend staring at them, the happy Romanian lifted his hand in the air, showing the platinum blond his raised thumb. Smiling, the teen leaned against the wall shook his head. He had strange friends. Following the odd pair around the large hall, he managed to catch them under the mistletoe. At first, Natalya only sent a death glare at the male in front of her, before blushing and kissing him ever so lightly on the lips. Vlad felt as if he were in heaven and he pretended to faint, dragging the girl into his arms. She gave him a stomp on his arm, but didn't free herself from his embrace, waiting for him to start the dance again. Well, at least someone was lucky that night.

Just when Emil thought his night couldn't get any lonelier, a slow song started playing and almost all the teenagers left the dancefloor, leaving only the couples and crushes. Half-heartedly, the Icelandic hoped his prince charming would show up next to him, smiling, give him an apology, drag him out there and dance with him. They'd share a long kiss while slowly dancing to the rhythm, feeling their partner's body against their own. But of course, his expectations were not met once more and he was left alone for the whole dance.

Halfway through the next slow song that was played, the blue eyed teen spotted his crush on the dancefloor. With no other than Louise in his arms. The girl was wearing a sea blue long dress with a flowy skirt, her hair not braided for once and her glasses exchanged for contacts. She looked breath taking and Emil felt jealous of her, the way she seemed to fit perfectly together with Leon, how beautiful they looked together and how they seemed to float over the wooden floor. His heart was racing and he felt his face heat up as he clenched his fists, anger taking over him. Tears were prickling in his eyes as they begged him to let the run free over his cheeks, a request he denied. He stayed strong, until the pair reached a mistletoe.

Emil could have sworn that it was Louise's doing. But he didn't believe it. Louise, the quiet girl who loved to study and was always receiving the highest marks, could not be after Leon, the one person who could best be described as class clown. But the truth was that she was the one to bring the leafs to the other's attention, gesturing up with her long, slender finger. A blush was spreading on her cheeks. The Asian holding her seemed a little lost as he looked around, apparently not finding what he was searching for. With utmost disgust, the Icelandic watched the two dancing teens close the distance between their faces and press their lips together.

It was then, that he let his tears flow out. His heart seemed to have stopped beating and he felt nauseous, as if someone had hit him in the stomach, which felt like it had plunged towards his feet. Sweat was breaking out everywhere and he froze in place, watching his date kiss someone else. There was nothing that he could do. His legs refused to move, his voice failed him and tears were still falling out of his widened eyes. Then, he ran out, drawing the attention from the people around him. The blond teen didn't notice that a certain pair of honey eyes were following him.

"I'm sorry, Louise, I kind of need to go", Leon said after he had seen Emil run out of the room, panic grabbing a hold of his heart. It was stupid to believe that he could get away with kissing someone else and right now, he hated himself. He was stupid, and an idiot, not worthy of the teen who had just fled from the room, probably with tears in his lovely eyes. Maybe they had even fallen, who knows.

Pushing away the other students around him, not paying attention to the angry yells that were sent his way when he once again bumped into someone and spilling their drink all over their outfit, the Asian finally reached the door, heart racing and sides stinging. God, he was out of shape. Trying to catch his breath and a glimpse of the beautiful male that he had hurt, he stood still for a moment, looking around. Emil was nowhere to be seen and Leon felt like kicking himself off a tall building as his punishment. Of course, that was impossible. Unsure what to do now, he just walked outside, hoping he would find his crush there. Not that he knew what he was going to say when he would encounter the other…

The gods really, really seemed to enjoy teasing Emil that night, because only seconds after he had disappeared from the human filled building, Leon appeared behind him. Why. Why must they hate him so much?

"Hey, Em", the Asian whispered, carefully coming closer to where the Icelandic had sat down, arms resting on his kneed and face buried into his legs. His back was shaking with every silent sob he cried and the brunet felt as if someone had pierced a dagger into his chest. The honey eyed noticed how broken the other looked, slumped together, wearing nothing but his suit, the bits of skin from his face that were showing, appeared to be tear stained and red. Yeah, way to go, Leon.

"I don't want to talk to you. Leave me alone", the crying teen said through his hiccups, trying to glare at the boy that had sat down next to him. It hurt, the Asian had to admit. But the other was probably hurting more, and it was his fault. Emil's phone went off and the blond unlocked it, reading the message his brother had sent him.

 **From: Storebror**

 **I'll be right there**

He was glad that he had left out the reason why he suddenly had texted Lukas, telling him that he wanted to leave. But he also knew that his overprotective housemate was very likely to question him for the whole ride home. The teen mentally shrugged. It couldn't be that bad. Nothing could beat getting all of your hopes and dreams crushed by the person you loved.

"Em, listen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, I-"

"I said I didn't want to talk to you. Leave me alone, don't call me Em and take your petty apologies somewhere else." Fuming with anger, the small male got up and stomped away, back stiff and not listening to the brunet that was still sitting on the stairs, feeling very guilty after hearing just how hurt his friend was. Yes, well done, Leon.

Emil had left the school grounds and had started to walk in the direction of home, hoping, begging that the other would come run after him, lift him into his arms and shower him with kisses, apologies and promises of forever. But of course, that was not going to happen. He was somewhat glad for that, as well. Suddenly blinded by headlights, the Icelandic stopped in his tracks. The vehicle stopped next to him and the passenger's door was opened from inside. In the driver's seat, a very worried Norwegian looked at him.

"Hop in", he said, leaving his questions for later. His little brother looked very distressed, thus he decided to wait until they were home, something the younger one was very grateful for.

In the end, the youngest of the Bondevik-Køhler household had managed to stay at the party for almost two hours and the Icelandic was a little proud of himself. But that feeling disappeared when he arrived home and his brother, in an attempt to calm the shivering and hiccupping boy, hugged him. The tears that had dried on the way home, had started to fall again and soon he was shaking again with sobs. The drops fell down onto the floor, leaving dark little marks in perfect circle shapes. Feeling useless, Lukas motioned for the other to come closer, while using his other hand to caress the distressed teen's back. The taller adult swiftly moved towards them, laying his arms around his two favourite Nordic people. However, for once he was not smiling brightly, but sporting a worried frown instead. They spent a rare moment in a group hug, for once not objected by any of the three family members, as the happy Dane would time to time call themselves.

None of them spoke as they listened to the ragged breath and heart wrenching sobs that emerged from the small male sandwiched between the adults. Worry had taken a hold of the two sunny blonds, but they seemed to feel that their youngest housemate needed the silence and warmth of their embrace. Lukas absentmindedly kept caressing Emil's small back, eventually taking off the suit jacket his was still wearing, assuming it must feel uncomfortable. Mathias was shocked by how utterly messy the Icelandic looked when he caught a glimpse of the teen's face when he had to stretch out his arms in order to be stripped off the jacket. It felt as if icy fingers were pressing against his chest, trying to break out. It hurt.

At some point, Emil's legs started to threaten to give in and they slumped down to the floor, still hugging the small teen. It took him quite some time to calm down, but in the end he fell asleep in their arms. Surprised, the two adults looked at each other, before they gently took off the teen's shoes and socks, loosening the bowtie and opening the buttons on his dress shirt. Apparently, the blond was exhausted from crying so much, because he didn't wake up, not even when the Dane hoisted him into his arms, taking him to his bedroom. There, the Norwegian lovingly tucked the teen in, pressing a kiss to the sweaty and clammy forehead after brushing away the platinum hair.

"Good night, lillebror." With a gentle 'click', the door closed and the two other occupants of the house looked at each other, both unsure what to do. In an attempt to comfort the smaller one, Mathias wrapped his arms around Lukas, who had worry written all over his face.

"He'll be fine. I bet you, tomorrow he will be his own grumpy self again", the Dane said, but the tone in his voice made it seem like he didn't believe his words either. With all right, because the next day, all hell broke loose.

* * *

Happy New Year everybody! Thank you for staying with me for this long. I hope you managed to spend the evening with your family and friends or other people you care a lot about.

The chapter is not as long as I would have wanted it to be, but that's because I wanted to end with a cliffhanger. And, to be honest, I've just not been that motivated to write these days. Sorry about that.

If you can guess who out mystery bartender was, I'll give you a cookie~

~Hana


	14. Chapter 14

To say that Emil was furious, was an understatement. Not only was he completely fuming with anger, at the same time, he was confused and hurt. Only three minutes after waking up, he had already typed in twelve messages apologising, cursing and declaring undying love, though none of them were sent. To prevent himself for actually sending one of those embarrassing messages, he decided to step into the shower and just let the water fall onto his body, ignoring the time and later the knocking on the door. When the water turned cold, he finally stepped away from it, instead standing in the middle of the room, letting the air wrap it's freezing fingers around him, softly caressing and teasing his skin until shivers were playing tag on it and goose bumps created a lovely landscape.

Once downstairs, his brother and Mathias looked at him, both doing a very bad job at hiding their concern. Yet neither of them asked him what was going on, what had happened. He would tell them when he felt like it, they knew. The teen decided to let them in on his worries at the kitchen table while they were eating breakfast. No one had said anything for around fifteen minutes. Lukas had been sipping his coffee, reading some papers for his work, occasionally furrowing his brows when he read something that didn't please him. His boyfriend was busy checking his phone, typing something from time to time, otherwise just scrolling. A regular Saturday morning.

That was, until Emil spoke. He had not cleared his throat, did not look up at anyone. He just stared into his mug, as if to drain it with his eyes, when he opened his mouth and let the words tumble to the table.

"He kissed Louise at the party." The adults' first reaction was to stop what they were doing and looked at their housemate with confusion. Lukas was the first to catch up, setting his beverage down with a little more force than usual. The blue eyes seemed to radiate coldness, piercing the teen to usher him to continue. It took the Dane a little longer to realise what was going on, looking at his lover and aforementioned lover's younger brother. Noticing the icy glare the older one was sporting, the clueless man's first reaction was to be cautious. You never knew when Lukas became angry with him for something that had happened under the influence of alcohol or lust. But when he saw the tears that started to gather in Emil's eyes, he relaxed a little.

"We were supposed to have a nice night together. We were going to dance, have fun and do things couples do, I don't know, I'm new to this. But he didn't pay attention to me at all when we arrived at the party. I went to hang up my coat, he said he'd already go ahead and when I walked in, he was gone, dancing with his friends and ignoring me. When they played a slow dance, he was dancing with that French woman. Some stupid teacher had decided it was a good idea to hang up mistletoes, so he naturally ended up with her underneath one and then they kissed." The hurt tears had started to fall, dripping onto the kitchen table. Trying to calm himself down, the Icelandic ceased speaking, taking in breaths in upset little huffs. Lukas reached out to the teen's slender hands over the table, almost spilling his coffee.

"And then?"

"And then I ran away, outside. I texted you and I waited, sitting on the stairs." That he had been crying his eyes out, was something he left unknown to the other two. "After, like, two minutes or something, I don't know, Leon came running outside as well and he wanted to apologise, but I was angry and I didn't want to hear it, so I told him to go away. At first, he didn't listen, so then I told him again to be quiet and I ran away. And then you picked me up." Sniffing and wiping the tears away, pulling his hand out of Lukas' gentle hold, he finished talking, feeling a little less destressed than yesterday. Mathias had been the only one to just sit in silence and listen, his hands tightening their grip around his phone until it sharply jabbed into his skin and left a mark. When he spoke, his voice was restrained by the anger that was brooding inside of him, body stiff with anger.

"How dare he?" Never had Emil seen Mathias this angry. Lukas had seen the Dane fuming with anger a few times, and it had not been pretty. A few times when the Norwegian was hit on in the bar. Most of the times, they would leave as soon as Lukas realised what was going on in his boyfriend's mind, only to feel the anger for days, body sore from the heated attention the usually cheerful man would give him. It also had happened when the call from the hospital came in two years ago, telling them that Hendrik, Mathias father, had passed away. In all of these situations, it was Lukas who was there for the tall man, holding him tight, letting him scream, cry and curse, kissing him and giving his body to calm him down. This time it was no different.

As soon as Lukas' cold hand was placed on Mathias' warm one, his anger cooled a little, until he was no longer trembling. The soft fingers kept brushing up and down his arm, drawing circles and swirling patterns through the silence that was left after Emil had concluded his story.

The sound of the phone cut through the silence like a warm knife through butter, startling the three humans sitting at the table. They shot each other confused glances, until Lukas decided to get up and answer the device that was screaming for attention. The Dane was still brooding with anger, until he noticed the concern spread across the Norwegian's face while he spoke to the caller. He swiftly stood up from the kitchen table and made his way to the other's side, grabbing the hand that was hanging loosely against the small body. Emil watched the two older Nordics with curiosity, until his brother motioned for him to come over. After bidding the person on the phone goodbye, Lukas looked at him with hints on worry shimmering in his eyes.

"That was Yao. He said that Leon is in the hospital and about to die. I don't know what's going on, nor do I know how true that is. He did sound very upset, so I suggest we get ready, clean everything and head to the hospital." The way Lukas' voice sounded calm and collected was in sharp contrast with the worry he felt for his little brother, who stared at him, disbelief leaking from his eyes as he started to shake again, softly whimpering, "No, no…" Mathias was the first to offer a comforting hug, gently pressing the red cheeks against his bare chest, feeling the wetness of the tears chill his skin.

With his right hand he stroked the messy platinum blond hair, whispering soothing words into Emil's ears. His left hand ushered the Norwegian to go upstairs and get ready. With a last glance over his shoulder, Lukas walked into the hallway, up the stairs and into the bathroom, turning on the water and ridding himself of his pyjamas.

Never in his life had he showered this quickly. Mathias had barely managed to convince Emil that he needed to get dressed in order to be able to visit when Lukas came back. With a soft but firm voice, he told the distressed teen that he had to go and get ready, upon which his younger brother nodded and left the two adults alone in the living room. One look at the smaller man was enough for Mathias to just open his arms and smile gently, inviting him to take the place of his brother. Sighing, Lukas walked over and closed his eyes, resting against the warm chest he had grown to know so well over the span of four years. The Dane noticed that Lukas was only a little taller than the teen. When he voiced his discovery, a playful smack on his bicep was the reward, an adorable huff spilling from the Norwegian's lips. To keep him from complaining, Mathias sealed them with his own, lightly pressing against them, tasting soap and toothpaste.

"Let's hope he's okay…", he whispered, before tending to the dishes.

In the hospital, after asking the medical staff for directions to Leon's room, the encountered a rare sight. Ivan was sitting next to an upset Yao, who had red eyes, red cheeks stained with tear streaks and who was wearing his pyjamas. His legs were curled, upper half of his body leaning against the tall Russian, leaning into the comforting warmth of the arm around his slender figure. It seemed the Chinese was asleep, for only the blond reacted when the three walked into the room. The bed was empty and for a short moment, Emil felt as if the earth was swept away from underneath his feet. A strong, reassuring arm was wound around his shoulders and the familiar scent of Mathias' cologne reached his nose.

"Don't worry, he's in surgery right now. He broke his ankle when he fell from the stairs. I'm sorry if Yao-Yao scared you, da?" Ivan said softly, letting his hand ghost over the black, silky threads of hair. Next to him, he could feel the grown man stir, until the long eyelashes started to flutter and the lids opened, giving him access to the honey circles underneath them. The three guests had sat down after Lukas brought two extra chairs, listening to the explanation from the still sleepy man.

Apparently, Leon had fallen down the stairs this morning when he was running down, eager to get away from home. He felt guilty after leaving Emil the way he had yesterday, and had planned to visit him, to apologise and talk about the whole situation. However, he had slipped and fallen down. Yao, who had been hanging up Hyong's laundry into his wardrobe, had run out, a pair of rainbow coloured boxers still in his hand, much to Leon's amusement. When he tried to get up, his laughter soon ceased and made way for a pained yelp. Being the overprotective brother he was, Yao had dropped everything and helped the younger one sit up, calling out for the twins. Hyong had been the first one to arrive, blushing hard when he discovered the underwear.

Leaving no time for being embarrassed, the oldest brother had urged the youngest to call the ambulance, the police and the fire department. Luckily, Hyong was not as overly worried as Yao, so he only called the doctor. After answering a few questions, letting Leon walk -which went horribly, because he was in so much pain-, the man advised them to go to the hospital and get him checked. Once there, a few X-Rays and scans later, the teen was sent off to surgery to get internal fixation. After he had been taken away, Ivan had arrived and he had proposed to call the Nordics to inform them about the situation. And that lead them to the current situation.

For a few minutes, they five men sat in silence, listening to the footsteps in the hall, the chatter of nurses and doctors, the ticking of the clock in the room. The seemingly peaceful moment was interrupted when Lukas proposed to get some food and a cup of coffee. No one said anything, they just nodded and followed him out. The silence continued while they were eating and drinking, everyone with their minds somewhere else. Many people walked by, some seemed happy, chatting with their companions. Others seemed more worried, taking quick, hurried steps to their destinations. Nurses rushed by, women with very pregnant bellies. Old people in wheelchairs and young people on crutches wobbled into the hallways. It was a colourful pallet of humans that Emil could observe. None of them looked alike, yet all of them did. They all had eyes overflowing with emotions, hands that were held or clutched tightly.

The Icelandic didn't know how long they had been seated there when Hyong and Yong Soo arrived, carrying a bag full of clothes. The two boys greeted the new guests with a nod, handing over the bag to their older brother, who disappeared into the toilets to get changed. When he returned, not much had changed. Everyone was still sitting, quietly looking at nothing in particular. All of them were too tensed, scared or worried to talk.

Eventually, after another round of observing the buzzing of people flying in and out of the hospital, Lukas and Mathias decided to go home. There was nothing they could do once Leon would wake up from surgery. They promised Emil they'd come back to pick him up and say 'hi' to the patient later that day.

Three agonising long hours later, all of them were finally called to the room by the nurse. Leon had awoken from the surgery. Yao was the first one on his feet, starting to run across the slippery tiles of the hospital, ignoring the shocked gasps and annoyed shouts around him. Ivan followed behind him, smile on his face and shaking his head. Thankfully, he was not running, but instead almost strolling, as if he were window shopping instead of seeing someone in the hospital. The teens stayed behind at the table, unsure what to do. Emil didn't want to break in on their family time, feeling very uneasy with the whole family. It was strange, since he had almost grown up with all of them. Never had he seen the twins, Yao or Leon in a situation like this before. Never had he been in love with Leon when he got physically hurt before. And never had a silence felt so heavy before.

"Don't you want to go see your boyfriend?", Yong Soo asked and the Icelandic almost fell out of his chair, red blush spreading like crazy over his cheeks.

"He- He's not my boyfriend", was all he managed to mutter while he avoided the knowing smirk of the teen and the roll of the other twin. Feeling defeated and found out, he eventually got up and staggered to the room, dreading the sight he was going to see. He didn't want to see Leon hurt. He didn't want him to be in pain.

The door slowly opened and in stepped the most beautiful, blushing princess Leon had ever seen. He wanted to wink at her, blow a kiss and make her blush some more, but his body didn't respond.

"Look who came to visit you", Yao cooed into his ear, squeezing his hand a little tighter.

"A princesh", Leon slurred, his tongue still lying heavily in his mouth. To his delight, the pretty princess blushed more, brows furrowing into a cute scowl.

"He's a bit high from the drugs they gave him", Ivan said softly, so the patient didn't hear it.

"I'm not high, I'm lying in bed and not flying", Leon shot back. "Stupid Ivan."

Emil couldn't help but feel relieved. It seemed Leon was okay, not feeling anything. Certainly, he was acting funny because of the anaesthetics. Being called a princess was not that nice, but Leon seemed to think he was pretty, so the Icelandic let it slide. When he walked over to the bed and sat down next to it, he barely noticed the other two leaving.

"Hey there, you idiot."

"Hello pretty princess!" Emil chuckled at the nickname.

"You shouldn't fall from the stairs", he said, unable to think of something useful he could talk about with the boy in the bed.

"You shouldn't be so boring. Give me a kiss, I'm a handsome prince after all!" For being fresh out of surgery, Leon had quite a cocky mouth, Emil concluded, while pressing his lips to Leon's sweaty forehead.

"No!", the self-proclaimed handsome prince said. "Not on the forehead, a real kiss!" The blond teen rolled his eyes and gave in to the other's whim, pressing their lips together.

Apparently, his mind had not been clouded that much by the drugs, for he remembered to kiss. It was soft, loving and it swept the blond off his feet. Feeling grateful and incredibly lucky that Leon was okay, he started to cry again, gently hugging his prince charming.

"Hey, is the pretty princess okay?", the patient slurred, unhandily patting Emil's shaking back.

"Yeah… Yeah I am. I'm just glad you are", he whispered, pressing kisses to Leon's cheeks, jaw, neck and nose.

After finishing spoiling the delirious Asian rotten with kisses and sweet words, the Icelandic blond just sat next to him in silence, holding his hand and listening to Leon ramble about anything and everything that came to his mind, giving in to his every whim and occasionally pressing his lips to the hand he was holding. Somewhere that day, while telling a story of how he had busted his lip when he was younger because he fell off his skateboard, the brunet fell asleep, snoring lightly after a few minutes. A loving smile spread over Emil's features. For a little while, he watched the Asian sleep, thinking about how lovely his boyfriend looked.

The thought startled him, setting off a chain reaction in his brain. _Wait, my boyfriend? But I didn't ask him. And after yesterday, I'm kind of sure he didn't consider us a pair…_ He thought, letting go of the limp hand. It fell onto the mattress with a soft thud. Unsure what to do now, Emil looked at the male again, letting his eyes wander until they reached the plaster cast around his ankle.

"Light bulb", he whispered, while getting up to leave the room.

When he woke up, free from anaesthetic hallucinations and with a lot more pain in his ankle, he was greeted by the worried gaze of his brothers. Before he could say anything, Yao was clutching at his chest, sobs emerging from his slim lips, eyes wet with tears and voice nearly broken.

"Do-hon't ehever leave me again…", he said in between sobs, punching Leon in the chest and dirtying the hospital gown the teen was still wearing. His tears left little dark splatters.

"Don't worry, I won't. I'm fine now", the teen said, awkwardly wrapping his arms around his older brother, who behaved like he had almost been killed today. "It's nothing bad. 'T is but a scratch", he joked, patting Yao's shoulder. The statement coaxed a little snicker from his twin brothers, who understood the reference.

"So, how're you feeling, big bro?", Yong Soo asked, getting up from his chair and leaning over to Leon, creeping into his personal space.

"Err, yeah, apart from the fact that you are in my personal space, pretty okay. Can I walk?" His question was met with frantically shaking heads and a horrified expression on Yao's face, something Leon would have loved to have a picture of.

"Nope, won't do. You have to stay here for tonight, they want to make sure you don't get any complications. So we'll have a lovely peaceful evening", Yong Soo said, playfully punching the other's arm. Leon rolled his eyes and tried to reach out and punch back, but a sudden pain in his ankle stopped him.

"Ow, fuck." The curse changed Yao's expression to an angry one.

"Leon Xiao Wang! I do not tolerate such foul words, even if you are in the hospital right now." The brunet winced at the use of his full name, sitting back against the mattress.

"Okay mum, no need to get so stressed about it. It's not like it's going to hurt someone." Before the argument could heat up, the nurse walked in with Leon's painkillers.

"Ah, I see you're awake. That's great, because you're going to get the list with choices for food for tomorrow in a few minutes." After explaining to him how things worked around his bed, what was going to happen and how long he would have to stay, the nurse told his family members that visiting hours were over and they were asked to head home. Yao, being the emotional mess he was right now, pressed a kiss to Leon's cheek before saying goodbye. _Like he's never going to see me again… I bet you my left arm, that once I'm home, he'll be complaining all the time._

"So, has anyone written on your plaster cast yet?", the woman asked, interrupting his bitter thoughts.

"Oh, uhh… I don't think so?" The question confused him and he shrugged. What was it to her? His answer seemed to disappoint her a little bit, but she didn't push the topic.

"Well, if you want me to write something on it, let me know", she said with a wink, before gathering the empty paper cups and leaving. The teen just stared while she left, completely puzzled at what she was trying to pull.

Giving up on whether or not she had been flirting with him or hinting at something, he settled back against the mattress and pillow, both seeming very soft and inviting. Apparently the drugs still were in effect…

His dreams were strange, filled with magical creatures, screaming monsters and terrifying murderers that tried to feed him cake and oranges. From time to time, he felt a pang in his foot, which translated to being shot by an arrow, stepping into a trap or being bit by a rabbit in his dreams. When he finally emerged from the surreal realms of sleep, his was panting and his heart was pounding against his chest in such a hard way that it hurt. He felt nauseous and pressed the red button above his head, calling for the nurse.

"You called?" In walked a tall man with brown, unruly hair and a strange accent. Feeling too sick to speak, Leon just nodded and held his stomach, hoping it would not empty itself onto his bed.

"Oh, you're not feeling well, are ya, mate. Let me get ya a bucket", the brunet said cheerfully and the teen cursed him for his bright attitude while he was in pain and feeling horrible. Just in time, the blue plastic container was pushed under his head, being filled with a smelly substance within seconds. "Just in time, ain't it?", the nurse commented with a laugh, gently slapping Leon on the back. A muffled groan floated into the room through the bucket, where the teen had attempted to growl at the medic, before throwing up again because of the sickening smell that entered his nose. Wonderful…

His night continued like that. Every time he fell asleep, weird dreams plagued him. After waking up, he would feel either very sick or a lot of pain. The two times he had finally fallen asleep without strange dreams, the male nurse would interrupt him because it was time for yet another pill or capsule with drugs that would kill the pain or make him feel better. They never really did. At the end of the night, the teen felt broken and horrible, pain still throbbing in his joint and head dizzy from the lack of proper sleep. When morning finally came and sunlight barged into the room through paper thin curtains, his mood had become sour and a scowl had been plastered onto his face.

Being the stubborn teen he was, Leon got up against all the nurses' and family members' advices, only to find out that he really could not walk. The plaster cast was heavy and his legs were unstable, trembling. He still felt weird and week from the operation and the stiches seemed to be burning with every weird step he took. Halfway to the bathroom, he had to sit down and catch his breath. Letting a waterfall of mean words -Yao would have been mortified had he heard them- slip from his lips, he looked down at the white thing around his foot, only to stop midsentence. The white had been dirtied with dark, black curls and stripes that formed letters and words. His breath got stuck in his throat and he almost wanted to jump back onto his feet when he read them.

"Will you be mine? Yes, No." Next to the possible answers, were little boxes, that were obviously meant to be ticked to give whoever wrote this his response. Now he understood why that nurse had been so curious about his cast. A high pitched squeal escaped his lips as he hugged his legs, laughing to himself like a teenage girl. God, Emil could be such a sap sometimes. Still giggling and with a huge grin on his face, he was found by the nurses, who just looked at him as if he had lost his mind, until she saw the scribbles on the white.

"Do you want a pen?", she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. It only took one nod and a whispered, "Make it multiple" from Leon, before she pulled out a thick black marker and left the brunet to his happiness, shaking her head and mumbling something about 'young love'.

In the time Emil had spent at the hospital, Lukas had cleaned the whole kitchen, living room, bathroom, all the bedrooms and the guest bathroom. He also had rearranged the whole storage room where they kept the groceries and other handy stuff, before heading to the kitchen and starting on the cupboards there. After watching his lover buzz around for three hours, Mathias had sworn he would go insane if Lukas touched anything in the house that wasn't Danish and made out of flesh, before swinging the Norwegian over his shoulder and bringing him to bed. There, he stripped him of his clothes and put him to bed. Instead of starting a hot make out session, he just pressed a gently kiss to the blonde's temple and tucked him in, laying down next to him.

"There, and now stay quiet. You're going to drive me mad like this. Let's just take a nap." To his surprise, his darling had agreed and they had cuddled and eventually napped together, until the front door was opened and Emil stumbled in.

The Icelandic tossed his coat onto the floor, kicked off his shoes and headed for the kitchen, starting to brew a large pot of coffee. He needed that, after having such a rollercoaster day. While he waited, he couldn't help but check his phone for new messages, nearly dying from curiosity whether Leon had already found his little gift. The answer turned out to be negative. It would have been too good to be true. Of course, the brunet would probably be sleeping. And as we all know, it's impossible to send text messages, let alone pictures, when one is asleep.

With a long sigh, he placed the device on the counter and reached for the now finished coffee, pouring it into the red mug that was already waiting. The smell was welcoming and familiar, like stepping into your house after days of travels. Soon, his brother and Mathias trickled in, hair messy and sleepy, eyes half open. They slumped against each other on the sofa, Lukas almost falling asleep again.

"How'd it go?", the Dane asked, his voice low and raspy from sleep. While setting down two new mugs, Emil thought back on his visit.

"Kind of okay. He was up and called me a pretty princess. I think he wasn't really able to think clearly." He was glad his brother was not completely awake yet, otherwise he would have surely made a playful jab about it being obvious that Leon couldn't think clear, since otherwise he would not call Emil a princess.

Walking over to the living room, carefully treading to not spill the coffee, he tried not to think about his phone that was still in the kitchen. When he had given the mugs to Mathias and Lukas, earning a sleepy and rare smile from his brother, Emil thought that it might have been a bad idea to ask Leon to be his boyfriend this way. Well, there was no going back now…

For the rest of the afternoon, evening and part of the night, Emil kept looking at his phone, unlocking it, hoping there would be a response. At one in the morning, he was desperate enough to take any response, be it negative or positive. Truthfully, he just wanted to be released from this tensed waiting, the anxiety that clutched his mind and heart. It wouldn't be until 6:37 in the morning that he would get his answer. When he opened the text, it didn't matter that he had only slept for three hours -it had taken him until three a.m. to be able to fall asleep- or that it was only a picture. Because that picture, really did say more than a thousand words. The 'no' had been crossed out, scribbled over until it was no longer visible. The box next to the 'yes' had been coloured in and was now surrounded by hearts and more 'yes'-es, in all kinds of colours. Screaming out his excitement and flapping his arms around, Emil jumped out of bed and started to do a little dance in his room, eventually stopping when Lukas and Mathias walked in. Their expressions changed from worried to confused and angry, when they found their youngest housemate dancing in his underwear, holding a phone in his hand.

"You better have a good expla-", Lukas started, only to be interrupted by a strong hug from Emil.

"He said yes!", the teen exclaimed and pressed kisses to his brother's cheeks and then jumped onto Mathias, who stared at Lukas as if to ask if the boy had lost his mind. The Norwegian shrugged and waited for Emil to explain himself. He wouldn't have to wait for the mystery to be solved, because the teen practically shoved his phone into Lukas' face. His eyebrows furrowed together first, but then a knowing, small smile broke through and he handed the phone to Mathias.

"Uh oh, I think we better give him the talk, Luke", the taller male commented after reading the words on the white plaster cast, winking at the teen who had stopped jumping around for a bit.

"Mhm, and I think we can't let him go to the hospital alone now, can we?", the other responded with a smirk. They were rewarded with a dramatic sigh and eye roll from the blond teen, who snatched his phone back and walked away from the two adults.

"You know", Lukas called out when Emil entered the bathroom, "Visiting hours don't start until 10 a.m.", which earned him an annoyed groan from the younger one and a chuckle from his boyfriend.

"Now that we're up, why don't we have… some alone time, now that we still can", the Dane suggested with a sly smile, wrapping his arm around Lukas' hips and slowly letting it travel lower. The smaller blond kissed him in response, dragging him towards their bedroom.

"I think we should indeed use our time wisely…"

A shower and several slow and painfully long hours later, Emil practically ran into the hospital, as if his life depended on it. He didn't care for the people that were already filling the halls, didn't pay attention to the medical personnel that he almost bumped in to. The only thing on his mind, chanting like a prayer, was Leon. Because of his hurry, he almost got lost in the giant building and the many halls, but a green wall filled with flowers and animals told him that he had to turn right, otherwise he would end up somewhere else than the child and teen ward. With his heart hammering in his throat, sweat beading down his forehead, Emil opened the door to the room where he had left his now boyfriend hours before.

Leon, startled by the sound of the door being pulled open, sat in his bed, reading a book, a slice of bread and a glass of milk sitting on the table next to him.

"Emil!", he whispered, pushing away the book and pressing his hands into the mattress, trying to get up. Before he could lift his torso off the white, the Icelandic had already darted to his side, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a crushing hug. The brunet let it happen for a but, until it started to become painful for him and he poked the blond in the sides, making him yelp in surprise.

"That was mean", the lavender eyed pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He managed to hold his act for exactly two seconds, before pressing his trembling lips to Leon's. Happy now that his boyfriend was finally here, the Asian wrapped his arms around Emil's neck, pulling him closer and, after a few kisses, deepening the contact between their lips by softly stroking them with his tongue. After what felt like hours, they broke apart, gasping for air, lips and cheeks red.

"I love you", Leon said, before tugging at Emil's jumper, motioning him to sit on the bed so their next kiss would not require gymnastic practise.

"I love you, too", Emil whispered, a smile playing around his lips as he sat down on the bed, leaning against Leon's leg. He closed his eyes when the brunet reached out to his cheek and guided him to his lips before kissing him once more.

 _~Fin~_

* * *

It's done. We're done. This is the end. (Kind of)

I can't believe that I finished this. Oh my goodness. Thank you all so, so much for your lovely reviews, messages and positive response. It really made writing this a lot more interesting and rewarding. I met a few lovely people through this story and I'm very happy that I managed to end this story. Again, thank you all again.

~Hana


	15. Chapter 15

_Epilogue_

Emil coughed when the dust Leon had blown off the box reached his lungs. It was clear that it had not been opened in quite a while, looking at the prints their fingers left on the brown cardboard. The two of them were busy packing up Leon's room, boxing the things he was going to take with him to their new home. To be honest, the Icelandic was very curious what the box held. It had been a while since he had been in this room, he thought that the last time had probably been when Yao and Ivan had finally gotten married two and a half years ago and thrown a little party in the Wang residence. He blushed at the memory, remembering the hot night Leon and he had shared on the bed the Asian had slept in as a teen.

With a raspy sound, the box was opened and its contents exposed to the light of the laps and the hungry eyes of two young men. First was a stuffed panda. The sight of it made Emil chuckle and Leon reach out for it, cheeks flushed while hastily picking it up, hiding it behind his back.

"What was that?", the blond teased.

"Nothing…", the honey eyed responded, blush spreading further over his beautiful skin. To avoid further questions, Leon reached into the box again, pulling out the next thing that it was hiding from their curious stares. To Emil's disappointment, nothing really interesting was retrieved, a few books and a poster.

Feeling a little bored, he let his eyes wander around the room, noticing the little details he had forgotten about in the years. Like the little stain on the carpet where he had once spilled his coffee. Or the little crack in the wall, in the corner above the bed. Or the bits of tapestry that had come loose after a leak near the window. It brought a faint smile to his face. The room held so many fond memories. They ranged from playing video games together, talking for hours and laughing about silly things, to kissing and having his first night together with his lover. Yes, it was a room full of memories.

The sound of something hollow being placed on the floor drew his attention back to Leon, who was still sitting on the floor, but had halted his treasure hunt. With a knowing smile, he held up something in his hands, something white. It was cut in half, but Emil immediately recognised the object that his darling was holding up.

"You still have that old thing?", he asked, astonished by his boyfriend. The old plaster cast, because that was what the Asian was holding, was more than five years old.

"Of course I wanted to keep it. It was how you asked me to be your boyfriend after all. I'd be crazy if I didn't keep it", the brunet shot back, noticing with pleasure how Emil started to blush a little. "After all, you're my best friend and my boyfriend and there is no way I would give you away. You're stuck with me forever."

To increase the cheesiness of his confession, he crawled over to the blond and pressed a kiss to his lips. After a few gentle caresses, the Icelandic returned the hug and let himself being pushed to the floor, noticing the dangerous glint in the honey in front of him and responding to it with a gentle bite.

"Good, because I don't want to be without you." A loving smile ghosted over Leon's lips just before he let them meet with Emil's once more. Packing would take long, he thought, before deepening the kiss.


End file.
